The Journals of Florimel Pines
by Diranda
Summary: After 30 years, Dr. Sarahbeth Florimel Pines reappeared in Gravity Falls, shortly before the end of the world came in 2012. But "Never Mind All That". The story of just -how- it began is darker than even her twin sister Sally, her nephew Marty and especially her niece, Dipper, know. This is that story. (With an occasional aside by William Sifras and friends...)
1. Chapter 1: It's Gonna Get Weird

Chapter One: It's Gonna Get Weird

* * *

_ October 17, 2013, Journal 4 (43'\\), FP, Gravity Falls, Oregon, Earth_

_Madge asked me to explain exactly what happened between Bill and myself all those years ago. My reply at the time was, "You're too young to really understand, but when you're older, I'll tell you everything."_

_ She sighed and nodded. Even then, however, I suspected she was at least a bit aware of the depths of what I was saying. I just... didn't want to admit to her, not to those wide, innocent eyes, the depths to which I had sunk, the darkness I'd let that creature find in my soul. _

_ I knew he'd already gotten to her. The last thing I'd ever let Cipher touch was my great-niece._

_ Unfortunately, I also knew the only reason he'd sought her out was because he knew me, perhaps better than I knew myself. Even as angry as I was, once I'd returned from the Multiverse, the softness in my heart was touched by the knowledge of my brother's grandchildren._

* * *

"I have a niece and a nephew?"

Flora felt a smile even as she looked over at Dipper and Marty.

Marty grinned up at her. "Hi! You're my Grauntie, huh?"

Flora extended her hand. "Greetings," she said, "do kids still say 'greetings'? I haven't been in this dimension in a really long time."

Martin Pines enthusiastically shook Flora's hand and grinned. "Wow! Six-fingered handshake! That's a full finger friendlier than normal!"

Flora chuckled. "Hey! I like this kid! He's weird!"

* * *

_Madge is a smart kid, much more mature than she really ought to be for her age. And in 2012, it didn't matter that she was twelve. I really wanted to tell her everything. I was alone, Sally was angry and I didn't trust her anyway. All I had was Madge. But in the matters of ... men and women, lets say, she was still very much a child._

_ I saw how she gazed at the pretty redhead who ran the register in Sally's goofy 'Mystery Shack' gift shop. She was crushing hard. I'd experienced that kind of thing in college (see: R. Sanchez). But even so, she didn't know what it was like for me when I'd met Bill. _

_ Journal 4, 2013_

* * *

_ June 4, 1979, Gravity Falls, Oregon, Dimension 43'\_

Frustration was hard to deal with. Flora never handled it well. After some well-deserved screaming and 'throwing-of-things', Florimel Pines grabbed her journal and scribbled about her anger and depression.

_"I'll NEVER get the Nobel Prize at this rate! What the hell was I thinking? I should have gone with F. and helped him with his 'computing machines'! At least he wouldn't have married- No... I need to focus. I-I need to figure out what it is that I am missing. _

_ I'M SMARTER THAN THIS!"_

There was a cavern. Her notes had shown that much, at least. It was a last-ditch effort, but there wasn't anything else she could do at this point. It was some cave back behind the falls (the Gravity Falls Falls... apparently the townsfolk weren't the most clever when it came to naming things). A cave that apparently housed some ancient Indian carvings or somesuch. There were things like this all over the Southwest, and none of those had ever amounted to anything supernatural, at any rate. (She still remembered the angry Mojave policemen who had chased her out of an area called 'Spirit Mountain' in Northwestern Arizona/Nevada. They hadn't been overly thrilled with the equipment she'd set up in what turned out to be a sacred area. She hadn't _meant_ to desecrate sacred ground, but they really didn't care to hear her excuses. Since then, she'd been a bit hesitant to explore anything that might be considered important to the Native peoples of the Americas. It felt somewhat rude and inappropriate. Even though she was Irish-Jewish, it still felt... _rude_.)

So, quietly, Flora asked around, before she actually made the trip. Nobody knew anything about Indian caves in the area, and if they did, they didn't seem particularly interested in them. Since Gravity Falls was a pretty quiet, laid-back town, it didn't seem as though anyone would stop her if she decided to 'hike and explore' the areas around Gravity Falls Falls and Gravity Falls Lake.

* * *

The cavern was rough, low and dark. It was also humid and kind of damp, since it was behind the Falls itself. She trained her flashlight against the walls and uneven, rocky floor ahead, walking slowly, making sure she didn't stumble. The cave was relatively small, really and sloped downwards sharply before it terminated in what appeared to be a natural wall.

So maybe her research was wrong. Perhaps she'd translated the runes wrong?

She growled under her breath, turning with a crunch of her boots in the scree and slammed her back into the wall behind her. Her flashlight beam sliced the misty darkness sharply as she did.

And in that quick, flash of a moment, the light caught and outlined a narrow fissure in the far side wall of the cave. It was hidden behind an outcropping that threw shadows along the rest of the wall, making the gap look like just another shadow.

Flora coughed in surprise and supreme annoyance. Of course!

Pushing up from the wall, she crunched over to the gap. It was indeed, a passageway. Large enough for at least one six-foot high man. Definitely large enough for her.

She ventured into the passage, her light moving carefully over the entire space in front of her. She was cautious, even though that caution was tinged with the excitement of discovery. She fought the urge to grab her journal and make notes.

Not just yet. There would be plenty of time for field notes later.

* * *

_Unknown time, The Sanctum of Nightmares, Nightmare Realm (no dimension, are you kidding?)_

A Mystic Valley People shaman, Modoc, had been the first human Cipher had been able to _actually_ make contact with, in an attempt to break out of the Nightmare Realm and into the physical dimension. He'd nearly been successful. Unfortunately the human figured out what Bill was trying to do and he made sure to warn the future against the strange three-sided creature that preyed on men's dreams.

Perhaps a primitive wasn't the best choice for his minion, he reflected, once he'd calmed down. Which took a ... _while_.

During his 'screaming and throwing of things' phase, his friends made sure to steer clear of him. They knew Cipher was prone to these, especially when thwarted and the last thing _anybody_ wanted was to get on the wrong side of the former Flatlander's substantial temper.

About the only one of Bill's minions who dared approach their Master during these kinds of events, was his oldest and the closest thing Bill actually had to a friend, a 'bona fide demon' (as Bill liked to say), Alistair.

He approached in the form that he'd first met Bill, that of a rhombus, a handsome, four-sided gentleman with a quirky eye and a subtle shading of actual _color_, which Alistair had decided would be a deep, almost mulberry shade of purple.

"William," Alistair purred, voice just as smooth and seductive as his clever shape. "You really need to cool down. It's been over a thousand years in that crazy dimension you like so much."

"..."

Bill just shot him a dangerous glare, his own eye narrowed and glinting furiously. Four jet-black fingers drummed slowly on the armrest of his massive black and gold-veined marble throne.

Alistair was anything but disturbed. He'd seen these moods before. He smirked with his own eye and chuckled softly.

"You're cute when you're pissed."

Bill glared even more sharply, but said nothing.

"Oh well, I just came in to invite you to a party. Ronnie thought it'd be fun to celebrate the destruction of those five dimensions that were drifting close to us. We just sucked in a substantial amount of matter, energy and the life-force of... God, _millions_ of universes. Your Maniacs are kind of giddy with the inrush, kid. You ought to make an appearance at any rate. Show the minions that you're _still_ the Master of the Nightmare Realm."

"I _am_," Bill snapped harshly. "You forget your place, Alistair."

Alistair inclined his top angle a touch, contrite. "Ah, well, my friend, as you say," he said. "I am simply concerned. And though they won't say it, many of the others are as well."

Bill gave a rude snort. "Yeah, well, just _maybe_ I've been considering this couple of setbacks myself. _Maybe_ I've already thought of all that. " His eye curved into a smirk. "And _maybe_, Alistair, I've made up my mind about a few things."

Alistair nodded again, mildly. "Yes, of course you have, Bill," he said. His voice was easy, without accusation, friendly. To anyone else who knew him, this would have been considered odd. Bill, however...

"Maybe I'll tell you about them, later." He pushed up and hovered above his throne. "You say there's a _party_, yeah? I could use a drink or twenty."

Alistair laughed. "Same here, kid."

* * *

Bill Cipher hadn't always been 'Bill Cipher'. Once, upon a long time ago and a very, very far away dimension, he'd been a simple flat gray triangle named William Markus Sifras. The adopted son of a sadly childless Equilateral couple. In what the three-dimensional beings like Florimel Pines and her family called, _Flatland_, society was strange, odd. And in some ways, _many_ ways, it was so very familiar.  
In Flatland, society operated on a very strict caste system. The fewer sides you had, the less of a person you were. The more sides, the closer you were to perfection. Circles, therefore, ruled the world, and anyone with three sides was relegated to the common class, the soldiers, merchants and workers. Equilaterals, those with three equal sides, were generally merchants and businessmen, whereas Isosceles, those with only two equal sides, were soldiers and laborers. Isosceles weren't generally considered to be very intelligent and were expected to be pleased with their lot. It could be much worse. One could be a Line, with no sides, which were Female and were considered to be even less intelligent than the Isosceles. (So calling a perfectly handsome and natty Equilateral an Isosceles was a _terrible_ insult.)

Perfection was a big deal in Flatland.

Occasionally, an Equilateral would be born to an Isosceles family, which, while rare, wasn't that unusual. Perfection would always win out over Imperfection. Imperfection was something that was not to be tolerated.

It had to be eradicated.

Isosceles were _barely_ tolerated at that. Primarily because if they weren't, Flatland's carefully constructed way of life would lose its servant class.

Of course, what all of this meant, was that a low-caste, imperfect family of Isosceles couldn't be expected to know how to care for something as alien as an Equilateral. So, for the child's sake, as well as that of the simple Isosceles family, the Equilateral would be taken from his birth family and given to a family of his own status, to be raised as a proper Equilateral. Which is what happened to William.

His adopted family was named Sifras. They were an average, middle-class family, living in an average, middle-class house on an average, middle-class street in an average, middle-class neighborhood. Everything about William's life was average. Middle-class.

Boring.

Or so he thought.

* * *

"Nngh," Bill slurred, leaning an arm around Alistair's upper angle, "th-this was yer best ide- yet, y-y'know."

Alistair chuckled, taking a sip of his own cocktail and patted his friend on the back. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he said with a slight cough. "'Though... I never known y' to turn down a-a _party_... ever!"

"AH-hahahaha!" Bill took a long drink of his gin martini. "If it wasn't f' you, 'Lister, my frien', I'd never have gotten _into_ a party... hah! Not in Secondary anyway!"

"Eh, true enough. Y'were jus' a maniac waitin' to blossom- o-or somethin' like that."

"Billy wasn't never a-a... _nerd_!" Pyronica giggled. "You're not saying he was, are you?"

Bill glanced at Alistair, then back at the hot pink demon-girl. "Errr..."

"He was the King of Nerds, Ronnie," Alistair said with a shrug. "An' I mean tha' in a good way."

"Really?" She looked intrigued. Bill had to hand it to her, she didn't look disgusted or shocked, like he thought she might. Out of all the demons and monsters and other weird creatures he and Alistair had attracted to their fold, Pyronica was the oldest of them. She was one of the first. They'd found her in a strange far future dimension that she later told them was called the Warp. She came along with them because she found them fun and interesting, and because she was bored. But Bill also knew there was more to her story. She just hadn't decided to explain it yet.

He liked her. So did Alistair. Which was saying something considering the majority of the other monsters they considered their minions.

"Yeah," Bill said finally, airily. He straightened his bow-tie and considered the demonette. "I was the smartest Triangle in that damned school. And the idiots refused to let me study what I wanted." He snorted, sipping.

"Because you were second-class," Ronnie said in a soft voice. "Yeah." She knew all about Flatland. "You mentioned that before."

"Heh," Alistair chuckled. "They were idiots, alright. But Bill showed them the Truth, in the end."

"Damn right I did!" Bill chortled, lifting his glass in a toast. "A _toast_-AHA, get it?- to Flatland! Flatter than Flat now!"

"Yeah, cause it's GONE!" Ronnie shouted, clinking her glass against Bill's so hard that both hers and his burst into pink and cyan-blue flames. Bill yelped, jerking his hand back, still aflame and smoking. He laughed heartily, however. Nothing could hurt him.

Not anymore.

* * *

The walls were rough, as though quickly hewn with little regard to the comfort of those traversing the passage. Florimel's fingers trailed over them, occasionally grasping at them for balance on the gravel strewn floor of the passage. She grumbled at the occasional sting, but something stupid like a little pain never had stopped her in the past.

She'd been trained to box as a child, while other little girls were taking ballet lessons, Florimel was learning to fight back. Her father insisted.

"I'm not impressed with 'I'm too weak, I'm a woman'," he grumbled once, "girls need to learn to fight. Especially around here. Next time that Crampelter brat gives you trouble, girl, you clock her one good. You hear me? Nobody bullies a Pines."

"Yes Father."

Flora stumbled, brain fogged with remembering, and cursed under her breath, one she'd heard plenty of times from her 'colorful' Irish mother, Moyra. Filbrick never 'cussed'. It didn't impress him at all. But 'Moy', like most of her family, entertained a diverse dictionary of 'colorful phrases'. The thought of her mother and her father made her smile, despite herself.

The strangest couple in their small New Jersey beachfront village, Filbrick and Moyra Caryn Pines were the oddest pairing anyone had ever seen. Filbrick, 'Fil', was quiet, stoic, never seemingly impressed by anything. When the Indians won the World Series in 1948, Fil wasn't moved. When the Second World War was won, he only said, "About time."

But Moyra Wolford was a different story. She was bright, funny, wild and romantic. She was a slender, gorgeous dark-haired Irish Catholic girl and was rumored to even be a witch! And the moment a young, pre-teen Filbrick saw the Irish beauty at school, he was in love.

The only time Fil showed any emotion was around the lovely Moyra. And later, the children Moy gave him.

"Oy! Mo dia!" Flora snapped as she fell to her knees, tearing holes in the thin polyester slacks she was wearing and scraping the hell out of her knees. "Shit! Feckin' hell!" She pushed herself up from the ground, brushing dirt from her hands and grumbling at the damage to her pants. "Dammit." She should have worn a more practical set of hiking clothing. She didn't really _own_ anything like that. She frowned.

Well now she was bleeding slightly from her scratched knees and the palms of her hands. "Well, that's the problem with having big hands, now isn't it?" she muttered irritably to herself. Six fingers just naturally made her hands a bit larger than 'normal' hands. Or feet for that matter. She frowned.

"Fuck it," she grumbled and kept slogging through the stupid, narrow, sharp corridor. It was going to shred her to bits by the time she got through it, she was sure at this point.

The scent of running fresh water filtered to her and she paused. It was tinged with fresh air as well, the soft, sharp smell of pine trees, a scent she loved. Hardly ever had the chance to actually _see_ the family namesake trees in New Jersey, but they were all over the Mount Blacksmore campus in Montana. And in Gravity Falls, the valley was _filled_ with them.

She must be coming to an open area. She pressed on, moving slightly quicker, trying hard not to stumble again.

Through a narrow opening, she glimpsed a wider space, a cavern that looked as though it might be a bit more finished than this passage was. Flora grunted as she pushed herself through the gap and into what momentarily stunned her.

It wasn't just finished, it was _embellished._ She looked around herself.

She stood in a circular chamber, a wide, circular chamber. The floor and walls were smooth, almost glass-like in their smoothness. Strange glyphs and figures covered the walls, either painted or engraved in such a way that they were as smooth as the walls they were inscribed in. She looked around herself, brown eyes widening as she took in all the amazing, wonderful runes and figures. She scrabbled for the light backpack she was wearing, almost desperately reaching for her travel journal, a rustic, leather-bound book wrapped in a sturdy leather lace. She grabbed a pen from her pocket and dropped to a knee in the center of the chamber, quickly sketching the walls, for inclusion in her Journal at home. It occurred to her that she ought to bring a pencil next time. Pen sketching never was as good as pencil sketches were. She grumbled softly. She could almost hear Fiddleford's voice in her head, _"Gdammit girl, y'never think practical, do ya? Should be keepin' at least a whole pack of Ticonderogas in yer backpack, y'silly thing!"_

She sighed. Last thing she wanted to think about was her best friend and Blacksmore roomie. Stupid Fidds. Got himself married and... was all Rick's fault... She frowned. Getting off track, dammit.

Florimel turned, looking around the room. Another nearly dark passage led off to the left.

_Sinister_. Left.

A kind of low-level, almost golden light leaked from the corridor. It was enticing in a way, almost _beckoning_.

Odd.

A slight, almost erotic, thrill crept through her body and she found herself moving towards the light, before she'd even realized she'd taken a step. The journal and pen _nearly_ fell from her nerveless fingers before she clamped down hard on them. _Florimel Pines_ would _never_ be caught _dead_ without _something_ to write on, or _with_, dammit! No matter what was beyond that passage, she'd be damned if she wasn't going to record every single thing she saw!

She walked, almost in slow-motion, it would occur to her later, towards the soft golden light. It was lovely, almost amber... a shade she'd loved... liked the novels as well... the ones so far... when she'd had time to have fun like reading fiction...

Lovely.

She stepped into the almost secret corridor and emerged...

In a Temple.

* * *

Bill paused. "Hm."

"What?" Alistair asked, leaning into the triangle a little. "Kid?"

"Somethin'..." Bill said, pushing himself into the air with a slight smirk in his eye. He glanced at Alistair. "Somethin' _interesting_ just... heh."

Alistair considered his fellow demon. Bill might be younger than he was, by quite a lot, but he'd always been... _superior_. It was why Alistair had been assigned to the Flatlander in the first place. _They_ knew. Alistair had been in existence long enough to know you didn't argue with _Them _when They made a decision. _They_ had seen something about the Triangle, even back then, They knew. Alistair had been honored to be chosen to bring William into the fold. When he'd actually met the Triangle, even more so.

Some might have accused him of 'going native', but he didn't care. He never had and he certainly wasn't about to start caring what anyone thought. Of course, this ended up with him and William on the run from just about _everyone_, but even so, Alistair didn't care. As far as he was concerned, he'd hitched his cart to a star and he was determined to ride it out to the end. He knew Bill was going places, even if those places were terrifying.

Alistair loved it.

He loved it all.

Especially William. His protégé. His prodigy. His...

_Master_.

Bill floated towards his private chambers, where the Dream Suite was situated. Alistair rose to follow, but Bill held up a hand.

"No. I want to see what this is myself."

Alistair paused, then settled back down. With a soft sigh, he took up his drink again and waved a slave over to refill it. The little demonette immediately jumped to his assistance. Alistair frowned slightly. Bill had every right to demand privacy for his work, but even so... something tickled at the very back of his mind. It... didn't feel... _right_.

And that very little something in the back of Alistair's ancient mind... began to _worry_.

* * *

Florimel's eyes were wide as they took in the immensity of the chamber she stepped into. It was almost mind-boggling, how a primitive culture like Modoc's could create something as elaborate as, as _this. _The previous chamber had been impressive, yes, but this one... it was...

"Impossible."

She blinked, clutching her pen and journal, and stepped into the center of the temple. The walls were glassy smooth, just like the ante-chamber. They were decorated with swirls of elaborate design and runic characters that she didn't recognize. The floor was clear, smooth as the walls.

It took her a moment of staring, trying to gather her thoughts, to realize, this chamber wasn't square, nor even circular, like the one she'd just left. It was...

_Triangular._

Funny, that.

And on the wall facing her, a soaring, giant wall that filled the space, was a massive image.

Dominating the center of the wall was a huge circular figure, divided into ten equal spaces, each with a strange glyph of some sort. Some looked vaguely familiar, like the one that looked like a six-fingered hand print, and the one that looked like a stylized pine tree. There was a five-point star, such as that which one would draw by hand. Something that was vaguely heart-shaped, another that kind of looked like the picture on her father's Lodge fez: the Holy Mackerel. There were several other images, sketches by an artist that didn't know what it was they were drawing. Weird, for sure, but the strangest by far was the image in the center.

An equilateral triangle with a large, single eye in the center. The All-Seeing-Eye. Or at least something very similar.

But the triangle's eye was cat-slitted. And the drawing wore what looked, for all the world, like a bow-tie and an almost ridiculously tall, thin top-hat. It had thin, sketchy arms and legs. She tilted her head to the side, taking the weird image in. After a moment, she flipped open her journal and sketched the image into it, careful to record it as exactly as it appeared on the wall.

Before the wall was a kind of low altar carved from the living stone. Though it hadn't been attended in centuries, it was clear of dust and even the offering bowls were pristine. Small containers that still held traces of tallow from candles sat to either side of the altar top. She walked forward, towards the wall. She was entranced with the image, unsure why.

Reaching up, she traced the lines with roughened, scratched fingers. She traced the six-fingered hand, the pine tree, the strange figure that looked like the Holy Mackerel, or a crescent moon and star, the star with rays that could have been a representation of a meteor, or a shooting star.

Then, reaching up, she stepped atop the altar to trace the image of the triangle, with fingers still slightly bleeding from her previous trek through the caverns. As the pads of her soft, six fingers brushed over the lines forming the eye, a slight, sharp shock went through her. It was kind of like the shock you get from static. It made her startle, but she didn't jump, nor did she pull her hand away. She shook her head slightly and gazed into that weird eye.

* * *

_Oooh. _**Blood**_. Interesting!_

He inhaled the rich, irony scent of fresh, young, _human_ blood. It drifted from the Temple Modoc had constructed at Bill's request all those years ago. Someone, someone new, young and most importantly, _human_, had found it. He chuckled softly to himself. All the little human needed to do was to... ah, yes!

The Dream Suite was dark, by necessity. Bill, as the Master of the Mindscape, was at his most powerful in the shifting mists between dimensions, worlds, the very verge of existence and non-reality. He was a Cipher, a non-entity, a Mystery... perhaps even THE Mystery. He had a vast amount of control... yet...

He was trapped. The Mystery of which he had dominion was the very thing that confined him and his people. For time immemorial, he wanted out. He _needed_ out. He didn't want to tell them, but the very existence of the Nightmare Realm was disintegrating. Slowly, minutely over millennia, but it was, inexorably falling to pieces. Before they knew it, the Realm would finally wink out, and with it, _them_. It was an ingenious plan really. _They _thought of everything, didn't They? Who knows, perhaps even They were in cahoots with Ol' Frilly and the rest of the Antediluvian crazies that ran the Multiverse.  
Bill didn't recall seeing that in his contract when he signed up for this gig. If there was one thing William Markus Sifras-Cipher didn't like, it was being a scapegoat. Especially not when he'd dragged the scum of the Universes along with him.

Not that he cared much about any of them. Except. Well. Alistair. Pyronica. Amorphous Shape. Not really anyone else though. They were bottom-feeders and hangers-on for the most part. But Lister, Ronnie and Poly had come on knowing entirely what they were getting into. Alistair would have had his own dimension to rule by now if he hadn't thrown his lot in with Bill. Pyronica was doing well with her boss, and though she still wouldn't tell him why she'd left, he figured she would have at the very least been leading her own army if she'd stayed with her Prince. Amorphous Shape though, well they were better off anywhere but where they'd been. Which was with a rapidly disintegrating Flatland.

He grumbled. The last thing he'd ever wanted was to be _responsible_ for people he cared about. The last thing he had ever wanted was to _care_ about _anyone_. Not anymore. He'd done that once and _look_ how it turned out. He shook his angle a bit. No, he didn't care about them, he just felt something of responsibility towards them. They were obviously too stupid to take care of themselves right.

The scent of blood was stronger and he drifted towards it. As he let himself move into the veil between worlds, the mists of the Mindscape swirled around him and he was able to _see_...

The human was youngish, probably early thirties, from the look of it. It had curly, unruly brown hair and wide, almost gemstone-like brown eyes. It was kind of attractive, as far as humans went. The curves on the human's body indicated that it was most likely a female. His eye curved in a smile. Oh, he _liked_ curvy creatures. Females in Flatland were anything _but_. He'd never liked Lines much, Shapes were much more his style, so when he'd finally been exposed to the multitude of beings in the Multiverse, he found himself titillated and enchanted.

This one, well, _she_ was certainly three-dimensional. In _all_ the right places.

_Hmmm..._

Her blood was pleasant as well. He drifted closer to the mystic viewport and pushed himself through into the swirls of the In-Between of the woman's Earth. It was, in common parlance, Dimension 43'\\. As she explored the temple, running her extraordinary six-fingered hands over the lines of the Cipher Wheel etching in the Temple wall, Bill let himself circle her, examining her three-dimensional form, letting his gaze slide over and around her.

_Hmm... yummy!_

Of course, she couldn't see him. Not yet. Not unless he _wanted_ her to. He was as good as summoned, though she'd had no idea what she'd done. Blood was the key, you see. Even minute traces of human blood was enough to call Bill and give him a way into that dimension. At this point, this was _all_ he could do, though. He needed _more_. He needed her to continue to brush traces of her delicious blood over his image and he needed her to fall asleep. Once she did, he'd have her.

He chuckled again, softly.

He could wait.

* * *

Flora made a couple more sketches in her traveler's notebook. She couldn't help making a few more drawings of the Triangle. It reminded her of something. Something she'd read in college and just slipped her mind. Shapes with single eyes...

_Flatland._

She smiled. The funny figure was beginning to grow on her. How odd. She wondered what Modoc had thought of the strange image. He'd recorded that he'd been given many images and words in his dreams and that he'd first thought these messages were from the gods. Later, he'd changed his mind, but she didn't think he was _sane_ at the time.

There were some inscriptions near the drawing she was now thinking of as a Zodiac. She wrote them down. This seemed to be a kind of invocation, which would have made sense. Even though Modoc's last messages had warned against summoning this 'god', Flora didn't think he knew what he was saying. In the end, the shaman had done away with himself and anyone _that_ disturbed couldn't be taken seriously.

She was desperate. She needed help, and this was the only way she knew of to get it. If it didn't work, as she suspected it probably wouldn't, then 'no harm no foul' as her sister, Sally, liked to say. But it was worth a try anyway.

Flora took a deep breath. Carefully, keeping her voice firm and loud, she recited the words on the wall before her:

_ "Triangulum, Entangulum. _

_ Meteforis Dominus Ventium. _

_ Meteforis Venetisarium!"_

* * *

_Ooooh! Yes... yes... YES!_

Bill was laughing in the In-Between as he circled the girl who chanted his invocation. He laughed harder and louder as she repeated the chant, looking around herself as though expecting a genie to pop up any second.

"Oh my little sweeting, it doesn't work like that!" Bill chortled in the girl's ear, "but just you wait 'till you go to sleep!"

She glanced around herself, almost as though she'd heard him, which just made him chuckle deeper and more wickedly. He wished she _could_ hear him, at least a part of him did. He liked being ominous and villainous when it served him and his excitement was getting the better of him at the moment.

"What?" she said, "i-is anyone there?"

"Yes, sweetheart," Bill purred in her ear. "You'll meet me soon enough."

She looked around herself, frowned a bit and made some notes in the little book she carried. He glanced over her shoulder.

_Once I recited the invocation, it felt almost as though someone were in the room with me. But I haven't been able to discern anything. Not even a ghost. It's probably my own overactive imagination, desperation, _hope_ that the summoning ritual actually was successful. I suppose I really am desperate. I need help and that's so difficult for me to admit. Perhaps the idea that I actually _could_ contact some otherworldly deity is truly the musings of a delusional mind. _

She sighed. "I must be losing my mind," she muttered to herself.

"Not just yet, darling," Bill snickered. "Soon enough."

Flora grumbled, shoved her journal in her backpack and made her way back out.

With a chortle, Bill Cipher trailed after her.


	2. Chapter 2: deCipher

Chapter Two: deCipher

* * *

Florimel Pines was an unusual person, in all ways. Aside from the fact that she was born with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, she was a twin and she was extremely intelligent. She was also more unique than even she was aware. In the vast Multiverse of reality, alternate dimensions, universes, reality and non-reality, she was rare. Most versions of her in other dimensions were an individual named Stanford Filbrick Pines, male rather than female. Of course, while she wasn't aware of this at the time, eventually she would be.

If she had been, she would have been aware of what was about to happen.

Perhaps.

Well, with the Multiverse, you never know. As a gentleman Flora once dated was fond of saying, "The multiverse is a-a lot fuckin' weirder than anyone gives it credit for." Of course he usually followed that up with a long drink and a burp.

Flora made her way back down to where she'd parked her truck (a red and white Ford 4x4) and drove home. She had no idea anything out of the ordinary happened, which only made her grumpier than she'd already been. She hurried inside her cabin, showered, changed clothes and dropped into a chair at the kitchen table, irritably scribbling notes in her Journal as she waited for the coffee to brew. Maybe she'd take a break and go into the town that evening, get a decent dinner and a bottle of wine. She needed to clear her head somehow.

_Maybe I should call S-_ No. She scratched that out. She didn't want to think about _her_. Not right now. The last thing she wanted to admit was that she was a failure. _Especially_ not to _her_.

_Bzzzz..._

She frowned even more. All this and now a stupid fly was in the house.

_Bzzzz..._

She shook her head and grumbled. The light on the coffee maker clicked off, so she went to grab the percolator and a cup: _I'm a PostDoc At MtBU!_. She poured a cup: black, no sugar, no milk. Sitting back down, she set about making an accurate sketch of the Zodiac Wheel she'd found in that strange sanctuary.

_Bzzzzzzz...!_

"Gah!" She set the pen down and looked around herself. She didn't see anything but...

"I'm going batty."

She looked at her journal, sighed a bit and got up. Rummaging in a cupboard, she found a Thermos, which she rinsed out in the sink and poured her coffee into. It was a bit cool in the forest in the afternoons, so bringing a canister of coffee wasn't a bad idea. Grabbing her traveler's journal and her backpack, she headed out into the forest in the back of the cabin.

A walk would do her some good.

* * *

This was the perfect place to put a cabin. It was nearly as she could tell, close to the center of most of the mystical activity in the valley, which made it much easier to monitor and track. Plus, it was in the middle of the most wonderful smelling pine forest she could imagine. So, not every decision she made was scientific. The thought made her smile. It helped that the majority of the forest area here was easily traveled and apparently not very popular with the townsfolk. In fact, she'd gotten the entire parcel of land for a 'real steal, might as well of robbed the guys', as her father would say. The cabin was built by a local builder who had no problems drafting it to her specifications. The guy was also pretty friendly and easy to deal with. He asked no questions about the basement levels or what she wanted to do with it. Probably figured it was a fallout shelter or something. Apparently 'Boyish Dan' was just happy to get the work as well as the ability to be creative in a build. His wife was also extremely sweet and lovely. She brought her husband and his crew lunches, made some efforts to befriend Flora, which surprised the young scientist and chatted about the town, answering any questions Flora had about the place. Apparently the young lady was quite a historian and was clearly enamored of the little town she and her husband called home.

It turned out, _most_ of the residents loved the weird little place. They seemed to take the odd in stride and just chalked it up to 'the mysteries of the Mountains'.

Flora felt, for the first time since her sister had left, that she was 'home'. She could be content here, even if no weirdness ever happened to her again. Nobody thought she was a freak because of her hands and they didn't treat her like an outsider, as many people in the cities of Oregon warned her about.

"Just be careful of the people in the mountains, miss. They don't like outsiders."

Gravity Falls wasn't like that, it seemed. Those folks just accepted 'the mysterious Science Lady' who moved into the Northern Woods area, up by Crystal Falls. They seemed to take her interest in their quirky little town as a compliment.

She wandered through the forest, not really intending to go anywhere, just heading out in the general direction of Crystal Lake, a small lake at the north boundary of her property, next to the cliff wall. She had a small weather monitoring station there. Might as well check the readings while she was out.

It was a bit rainier of a season this year, so she was curious to see what kind of data had collected since the last time she'd been out to the little cabin.

She paused, leaning against a birch tree. Seemed she'd been a bit more strenuous in her morning hike than she'd thought. She was tiring quickly, which was definitely unusual for her. Hmm.

Looking around, she found herself in a cozy little grove of silver birches, another spot she loved in the little forest around her home. It was as good of a place as any to take a breather, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the gentle wind in the trees and the soft sounds of the forest. It was very restful, this place.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and opened her backpack to take out a few books and her journal. Leaning against the trunk of a tree, she began to read.

* * *

Bill was hard pressed to keep his giggles to himself. He'd followed the girl the entire way, watched her and teased her (as much as he was able to in the liminal space he occupied) and enjoyed her annoyance and frustration. She was _interesting_. She didn't scare easily, he was learning, nor was she the least bit worried about anything other than her own mental road-block. What he could learn from her awake mind was limited, but it was enough to keep his interest piqued, which was rather significant, since most humans barely registered as a blip on his metaphorical radar.

He chortled, laughter echoing through his existence; the space within the physical realm that he occupied, or as he thought of it, 'The In-Between'; the Sanctum's Dream Suite within his Nightmare Realm (that which was left of his old dimension as well as the debris of countless others he'd 'liberated' over the years) and the realm of his own Mindscape, which was a strange non-dimension of his own creation that he ruled absolutely.

Of course, the greater Mindscape (also called the Dreamscape) was a multi-universal anti-dimension that every sentient and semi-sentient being could and usually did, connect to at least once in their limited lives. It was Bill's and only Bill's. As the Master of the Dreamscape, Bill ruled the strange miasma of dreams, thoughts, fantasies and all possible, impossible and improbable outcomes. It was a powerful position and once he'd been given the realm of the dream, he refused to relinquish it, even when _They_ demanded he do so.

_Your mistake!_ Bill had snickered in Their faces. _You should have known better than to fuck with pure Chaos!_

_They_ had dealt with something like him before. Tricksters were a rare commodity, not particularly welcome in any pantheon, but absolutely necessary. Unfortunately.

_You know,_ Bill told Ol' Frilly, the Axolotl, once, _you'd think They'd figure this out and stop doing it._

_Maybe._

Good old Frilly. As enigmatic as always.

The so-called 'Gods' were a weird bunch. Heh.

He watched his little pet as she grumbled and griped her way through her shower, through changing into what looked like a pair of gray denims and a mustard colored blouse that really did nothing for her olive complexion, through preparing the old-fashioned coffee percolator and scribbling down notes in a rather nice burgundy leather volume, bound with brass. He chuckled, teasing her with a faint buzzing noise which eventually got her moving again. Really it didn't take much to get the girl out into the forest and walking.

When she settled into a spot, leaning against the trunk of a tree, he couldn't help but to rub his thin little hands together in glee. It was only a matter of moments now before the girl drifted off...

* * *

She didn't quite realize it at first, but she'd definitely noticed that she'd fallen asleep when the world turned a deep shade of blue-purple, speckled with faint points of light, like stars, as though she were floating in space. Flora looked around herself with bemusement at first, then she couldn't help but smile as the images of distant stars and swirling galaxies came into existence around her. She loved these kinds of dreams, where she flew through the night sky, into space, feeling free and light and happy. She gazed around, enjoying the weightless sensation for a little while, then she slowly began to realize that the environment was metamorphosing yet again. It was still the vastness of deep space, but now, it was _more_. As though cut from an episode of _The Twilight Zone_, objects came into being around her: clocks, books, images of yet more galaxies and strange stellar bodies she could only faintly recall seeing in textbooks and photographs. Scrolls and so many more books; it was like a library in space! She floated, enchanted with the strange visions.

It was about then that she realized she was wearing one of her favorite outfits, her beloved long tan trench-coat, charcoal gray denim jeans and a bright stripy blue button-down blouse under a soft, chocolate sweater-vest. It was definitely one of her more attractive looks and she wondered absently why she'd chosen it.

Her attention was quickly diverted when she caught the page of an open book as it floated past. She reached out to pull it towards her, reading, eyes wide with fascination as, in her own hand, she read of the creation of the Large Hadron Collider and the eventual discovery of the Higgs Boson by the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Switzerland, CERN. She wasn't even certain any of that made sense, nothing like that had happened yet, had it? Another book floated by with an image of the sea and a sketchy triangle drawn on it, labeled 'The Bermuda Triangle'. A scroll detailed an equation she was certain she'd never even considered before... if these were indeed, her dreams, how could she know these things? Sure, the Bermuda Triangle was something she'd studied a bit in college, but the other things she was seeing: plans for a multi-dimensional portal device that was built into a hand held weapon, another apparent journal in her own hand, that mentioned something called 'The Resonance Cascade', 'The Seven Hour War' and the 'Black Mesa Incident'. Another discussed the disappearance of a ship called the _ASRV Borealis_, as well as scrolls and scrolls and pages and volumes full of mathematics and equations. There were dozens of plans for amazing kinds of machinery, portal technology, computer technology, all of it unlike anything she'd ever seen. All of it detailed in volumes of her own future journals.

Weirder still, these were mixed in with more mundane articles, such as a copy of the letter she'd received from Cave Johnson, offering her a position at his research laboratory, as well as another letter from Dr. Simon Quinlan, his head of computer science, which was a hell of a lot more... _ugh_... personal.

_"HIYA, SMART GAL!"_

The voice was sharp, loud, kind of high-pitched, but definitely masculine.

It startled her so much she gave a soft shriek and jerked around in the air to face... uh...

A _Triangle_?

No, properly, a Triangle with an Eye. Like the Eye of Providence. Except she didn't recall the Eye of Providence having a black bow-tie, a ridiculously tall black top hat or skinny black arms and legs, as though it were a drawing come to life.

"Wha-?"

_"WHOA THERE, SIXER! DON'T HAVE A HEART-ATTACK, YOU'RE NOT NINETY-TWO YET!"_ it exclaimed.

_Sixer_. Nobody called her 'Sixer', except her sister.

The Triangle chuckled.

"Who are you?"

"Name's Bill!" it said in a bit less of an outdoor-voice, "And your name's Sarahbeth Florimel Pines, the little lady who changed the world, but I'm getting ahead of ourselves; let's relax!"

Flora's eyes went a bit wider as the Triangle, Bill, apparently, circled lazily around her, chatting as though they were old friends. "Care for a game of interdimensional chess?" he was saying as a chessboard and chairs materialized between them. She was suddenly swept through the air and set down firmly in a chair that looked for all the world like a half-imagined chalk drawing, with no weight or substance, yet it _felt _extremely real. "Have a cup of tea." And like that, a teapot appeared out of the ether and poured an animated cup of tea that felt and _tasted_ completely real. She blinked owlishly at him a couple of moments, trying to take this in. Yet... the board intrigued her and she couldn't help letting her attention be drawn down to it. Thoughtfully, she made a move. Then Bill made one.

The next thing she knew, she was playing a game of _extremely_ weird chess with a denizen of Edwin Abbot Abbot's _Flatland_ novel and _losing_.

Badly.

_If Carl Sagan could see me now..._

* * *

Up close, the girl was cute. Heh. Alistair would like her, probably. He knew of some other fiends that would get a kick out of the kid as well. He liked her general air of irritability, even exasperation with her general situation. Again, not frightened or angry, just annoyed that she didn't have all the answers. Heh. She _liked_ being in control. Not having control bothered her something _awful_.

Oh, he could _use_ that. So much!

As she focused her attention on the interdimensional chess game, learning quickly that it was an entirely different game than the one she was used to, her brain was interestingly _open_, free for his perusal. Which he did quite easily as he let her learn the rules of the game, let her think she was getting somewhere. Let her think she was winning. At least for a bit.

While she congratulated herself on what she thought was a clever move, on the fact that she was picking up this game rather quickly, while she became comfortable in her own inflated sense of _superiority_, even to an Otherworldly Being such as he, Bill sifted lazily though her sleeping memories.

Sarahbeth Florimel Pines- Jeeze Louise! Her folks never gave her a chance, did they?- was full of her own importance. She had to be, otherwise she would have been buried under the weight of her perceived inadequacies. Even though, deep down, she was fragile, broken, _scared, _ she'd never let herself give in to those feelings. Otherwise, _everything_ she worked for would collapse around her. She was driven, not only by her intelligence and her desire to succeed, but by... ugh! He winced inwardly- _expectations_. Her own, what she _thought_ her twin expected of her, and especially what her _parents_ thought.

Dear old Dad, particularly.

_Been there, done that, sweetheart. Got the whole three-piece-suit, babe._

This was a kid who loved her Dad, but never was certain the old man loved her. Or her sister, or any of her siblings, from the brother who had just recently been killed in the Middle East, to the baby sister she hardly remembered. All ol' Filbrick (the kid had come far too close to getting 'Filbrick' for a middle name, as well!) was concerned about was money. Particularly how much cold hard cash he _didn't_ currently possess. Wanting to make sure that his children were actually good for something, he pushed all of them to try hard in school, learn about 'real life', make sure they 'had a trade to fall back on' and above all, make more money than he or his father ever did, so they could 'buy this family a ticket out of this crummy town'.

Hard requirements for a kid. Any kid.  
Bill snorted to himself.

Time to turn the tables a little. He began to press his advantage. Teach the kid a lesson before the _real_ lessons began.

Geeze. Some kids were lucky and had parents who just wanted them to be happy.

He winced, hard. Not time to think about crap like that.

Flora made a low, absent noise. Bill allowed his eye to smile, just a little. She was clearly enjoying the challenge he'd given her. Not at all upset that he'd countered what she clearly thought was a brilliant move. She was certainly interesting.

"So, Sixer," he said thoughtfully, "you at all curious about this situation? Besides my name?"

"Yes," she said, moving a piece. "This isn't at all like three-dimensional-chess. Funny that."

"Ah, that fictional game from _Star Trek_? If you'd like, we can play that instead. I understand there's rules established for it."

"Er... wait, what?" She looked up and stared at him. "I-I _didn't_ know that."

"Yeah, what did you think, my dear? That I'm a figment of your overactive imagination?" He laughed. "And I thought you were _clever_, Sixer."

"Well yes, this is a _dream_, isn't it?"

"Yes. But I'm no figment, Flower-girl."

She blinked again, silently mouthing, 'flower-girl' in confusion.

"You know about the multiverse, of course. Trans-dimensional theory. Your friend Sanchez was kinda an expert on that, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, but Rick is crazy."

"The Multiverse is crazier than anyone knows, Florimel Pines." He manifested his black, crook-necked cane and leaned forward on it, his one eye fixing and holding both of hers. "Everyone who _knows_ anything is a _little_ crazy. Yer friend Sanchez knows more about the Multiverse than you realize. He's... what you might call a _lynchpin_."

"Mo dia," she mumbled. "So why did you seek _me_ out?"

"You rang my number, sweetheart."

"What?"

"Oh come on, Pines!" Bill purposefully mimicked Rick Sanchez now. "You're smarter than that, babe!"

She coughed. "You know Rick."

"Naw," Bill said. "But I know _of_ him." He rolled his eye, mumbling, "God, who frickkin' _doesn't_."

Flora made a move and looked up at Bill.

It took a lot longer than either of them really wanted and Bill reflected that maybe Florimel needed to knock off the coffee, it was addling her brain.

"The Zodiac!" she shouted, jumping up from her chair, gasping as she realized she wasn't _standing_ on anything and abruptly tumbled over backwards, upsetting the teapot, the cups and the board. Everything spun into space and Bill watched this a moment before he burst out into laughter. Amused laughter. Not even a _hint_ of an edge to it, not that _she'd _ be able to discern anyway. Adorable, really. She was a silly thing. But kind of cute.

"G'dammit, of course! I must be daft!"

"No," Bill said mildly, "you're just mentally exhausted. I understand, kid. That's why I'm here."

The board, the chair, the teapot and cups all righted themselves with a wave of his hand and she found herself offered a fresh, full cup of warm, delicious cinnamon tea, which gently nudged her fingers like a shy puppy. She blinked over at Bill, pretty brown eyes wide and shining like tiger's-eye gemstones. "Y-you are?"

"Yep!" he said, making a move, capturing one of her key pieces and whisking it away off the board. "I'm here to help you achieve your dreams. You're a great person, my dear. And I'm humbled to have been chosen to be your Muse."

"Muse?" She blinked again. _Need to get your prescription checked, sweeting. _

He inclined his apex a touch. "I believe that's what you'd call it. I'm here to help you, to inspire you, to get you back on the _right_ track. All great people stumble a little at first. And you, well, you're poised to make an incredible difference in not only the world, but beyond."

"B-beyond?"

He captured another of her pieces, a more important one this time. She bit her lip and frowned, trying to focus on her next move.

"Oh yes, Florimel Pines, you don't even _know_ how much good you will do-"

_Me._


	3. Chapter 3: The Woman Who Saved The World

Chapter Three: The Woman Who Saved the World

* * *

_June 4, 1979, Evening_

It was dark when she opened her eyes. Dark but not frightening. She never felt frightened in these woods, where everyone else was scared to even walk during the daylight. She sat there a moment, trying to take in everything that _seemed_ to have happened while she slept.

Quietly, she gathered her Journal, books and Thermos and absently stored them in her backpack. Just as quietly, she got to her feet and began to walk back to the cabin.

Once she got there, she put her books away, emptied the Thermos in the sink, washed it and put it away. All without uttering a sound.

Her brain was turbulent, however. As she did mundane tasks; cleaning the kitchen, unloading the washing machine and folding the towels, putting the folded laundry away in the cupboard; her exhausted brain ran hard and fast. The information Bill had imparted to her was almost too much. Information overload, perhaps? Eh, she could handle it, he'd said so, and what's more, she _knew_ it.

_Hmm... you really should have a glass of that excellent red wine. Haven't had a sip of _decent_ wine in centuries, sweetheart._

She went stock still and her eyes widened.

"Bill?" she breathed.

No answer.

"Gah, must be hearing things."

Wine _did_ sound good though. She opened the bottle Dr. Quinlan had given her at the reception following the award of her grant. He'd _intended_ to open it with her in his hotel suite, of course, but _she'd_ never had any intent of indulging the older scientist's interest. Which was just as well, she'd heard rumors about the man, as charming and handsome as he was. He _was_ distracting, but_..._ _ugh_... even if he had a smooth, sexy Irish lilt to his voice and was an amazing dancer (she'd danced with him only to annoy Rick), she'd _never_ do anything else with the man.

_Quinlan. Oh boy. He's got _quite_ a future ahead of him..._

She froze again. The voice. Was that Bill? Or was it her own crazy, coffee-soaked musings?

She shook her head. She was obviously tired and overworked and suffering from stress. She carried her glass of Burgundy to the study and settled into a chair, pulling a book over to her lap to read.

_Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence_ by Carl Sagan. Fidds gave it to her as soon as it was published, well as soon as the university bookstore got it in stock. He knew she'd gobble up anything by Dr. Sagan and he wanted to get her an unforgettable birthday gift. Neither of them had much money and her heart nearly melted when she learned that dear, sweet Fiddleford had saved every dollar he could to afford to get her a_ signed _hardback copy.

She sighed a little. She missed Fidds. He was happy, as far as she knew anyway. Neither of them talked or communicated much since leaving Mt. Blacksmore, but he'd wanted to go to California as long as she'd known him. "Anythin' t'git as far away from Tennesee as I can git," he'd said, often. She wasn't entirely sure why he'd wanted to put a handful of states between himself and his family, since he'd always told her how much he loved them and how wonderful of a childhood he'd had in the Appalachians with his backwoods clan. She supposed his reasoning was like most of the young people she'd met in college; distance meant independence. The further away from Daddy and Mommy's influence you could get, the more grown up you were. Or something like that. She'd considered even moving to West Virginia at one point, but the draw of Oregon was a bit stronger.

She was a weirdness magnet... obviously. Look what had just happened.

That Bill... he was an enigma, wasn't he? She sighed, closing her book on the bookmark she'd not even moved. She sipped her wine. She supposed there wasn't any reason _not_ to believe that he was what he said he was. He did seem to know, or at least have access to, quite a lot of information that she didn't. That and he knew an awful _lot_ about Richard Sanchez. Things only she and Rick knew.

_But if he really was a figment of my imagination, of course he'd only know stuff _I_ know. And the rest of that information, that could be a well-educated guess on my part. I mean, CERN has been planning to build a particle accelerator for years. And Fiddleford said computers would eventually be as common as electric ranges._

She yawned a bit. Sipping the wine, she supposed it was really because she was tired. She had been hiking quite a bit today. _Should go on up to sleep_, she decided.

Setting the book aside and carrying her wine glass, she switched off the study lamp and made her way to her bedroom. She took another sip of the wine as she went, closed the bedroom door and made ready for bed. Once she was settled in, she switched her bedroom light off and closed her eyes.

* * *

Bill was thoughtful. Strange for him, but Alistair rarely worried about his friend's weird moods. Even so, this was pretty odd, even for Bill Cipher. He reclined in an elegant, expensive armchair in Bill's private chambers, legs kicked up over the armrest. This time he was in his preferred form, humanoid. Alistair was an _Atae_, one of the ancient Antedeluvian race that lesser mortal creatures called 'the gods'. More precisely, he was what would technically called a 'demon'. At any rate, Alistair's humanoid form was svelte, handsome, charmingly wicked looking, all the things necessary for him to be as good at his job as he was. He wore his long, ice-blonde hair loose today and had decided to streak it with blood-red in a few places. His slightly almond-shaped eyes were a slight bit overlarge for a human but normal for a handful of other races, primarily those from the Fifth Quadrant. They were a shimmering shade of lavender, almost holographic in some light. And they were cat-slitted, just like Bill's. His full lips were curved in a wide, Cheshire-cat grin as he watched Bill being contemplative.

"What's going through that brilliant angle of yours, kid?"

Bill glanced over at him. After a moment, the Triangle chuckled. "Oh, just thinking about Florimel Pines," he said. "Pretty little thing. She will be exactly what I need to get out of here."  
"Yeah? She smart enough for you?"

Bill nodded. "Incredibly," he said. "She's too smart for her own good. And what's more, she's so insecure it's hilarious. She's so easily manipulated it's almost sad."

"What era is she from again? America, nineteen-eighty?"

"Seventy-nine."

"Ah, 'women's lib' and all that. Keep that in mind, buddy. Women don't like men telling them what to do."  
"She's a nerd," Bill said dismissively, "a female scientist in a time period when there's not a lot of women in that field. She's alone, she's brilliant, she's shy, mousy and a true freak." He laughed. "Six fingers certainly doesn't help her case when it comes to feeling attractive or feminine. She's kind of... curvy... for what her culture considers a 'pretty' girl."

"Oh?" Alistair said, sitting up straight. "How curvy?"

Bill waved a hand and an image of Florimel appeared in the air between them. She was dressed in the gold blouse and gray pants, her thick, unruly chestnut hair pulled in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck, held by a loop of elastic and a couple of red plastic beads. She blinked up at them as though she could actually see them.

"Oh! She _is_ cute!" Alistair said with a chuckle. "Excellent. She's looks just like the kind of girl who has no idea how pretty she is. Perfect. Very easily kept in line."

"Yeah," Bill said. "You should see what she dreams about as well. She's so guarded and possessive of her memories, yet it's child's play to push past the barriers and see what's _really_ going on under all of that false bravado and hubris."

Alistair chuckled softly at his friend's unusual eloquence. "If I didn't know better, Billy, I'd say you're falling for her. At least a little bit."

"Nah!" Bill said, almost as though he hadn't really heard the weight of implication on Alistair's voice. "I just think she's fascinating. I haven't had access to a first-class mind like hers in centuries."

"Hm." Alistair thought a quiet moment. "Not even Modoc?"

Bill snorted loudly. "Modoc wasn't even in the same _dimension_ as this girl, 'Lister."

Alistair laughed softly. "Oh, well, this is the happiest I've seen you in centuries. If you really are sure this girl is the one, then I'm completely behind you. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."

Bill cast Alistair a glance. "Yeah? You serious?"  
"Sure thing. If this girl is our chance to escape this decaying entropic purgatory, I'm your slave."

Bill just chuckled.

* * *

_June 18, 1979_

After a couple of weeks or so, Flora was really beginning to wonder if she'd imagined it all. She'd not heard from the strange little Triangle since that first encounter, though she'd gone to sleep the next several days _expecting_ him to make an appearance. She'd even gone so far as to drive into town to use the Library, scanning every current magazine and newspaper she could find, trying to see if any of the things she'd learned about in that weird dream had actually occurred and she had just forgotten about it somehow.

Nothing.

Of course.

By the time it had been almost two weeks since the dream, Flora was seriously beginning to doubt her sanity.

"Dr. Pines, the library's closed," the Librarian said quietly, coming up behind her. "I-I'd like to go home, if you don't mind?"

Flora looked up, blinking myopically at the woman. "Oh... already? Uh, y-yes, what time is it?"

"Seven PM. The library closed at five, you see."

"Oh my- I-I'm so sorry Lily, you should have told me sooner."  
"I didn't want to disturb your work, that's all."

Flora smiled softly. "No, it's alright, please. Next time, just let me know. I don't want to make you stay late just because of me."

Lily shrugged with a smile of her own. "Oh that's never a problem. I love the library. I'd live here myself if I could."

"Let me at least buy you dinner to make up for it."

Lily inclined her head. "Normally, I'd take you up on that but I have a date tonight. My boyfriend and I are meeting at O'Grady's in an hour for a late dinner."

"A raincheck then," Flora said. "I'll buy you both a round of drinks or something. Just let me know."  
"Sure. Maybe you and your boyfriend can come and we can make a double-date out of it."

Flora blinked, flushed slightly and gave a shy little shrug. "Uh... well, Lily. I... my boyfriend and I broke up a while ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I just thought... well, the gentleman who used to visit... I thought he was..."

"He was. We just kind of went different ways. He's not visited me in at least a year now. Not since my brother died."

"Oh, god, I'm sorry, Flora."

"It's okay Lily. I haven't been in town much lately, so how would you know what's been going on with me."

They walked together towards the library door. "Well," Lily said after a moment, "we don't like to bother you. We all know you're working on something Important at your place." The very way she said 'Important' capitalized the word. "You're our mysterious Science lady."

Flora chuckled softly. "Thanks, Lily," she said. "Just give me a call and we'll meet up for that drink. Tell James hello for me."

Lily locked the library door and tucked the key in her purse. "I will. Have a nice evening, Flora."

"Good night, Lily."

* * *

She closed the door to the cabin and locked it, sighing softly. O'Grady's was a new Irish pub that had just opened in town, well, 'just' if one considered it had opened on St Patrick's Day. She had yet to visit, but from what everyone said, it was a welcome addition to the bar scene in Gravity Falls. Aside from the Northwests' snooty dinnerclub, 'The Club' and the biker bar down on Main, there wasn't much in the way of any kind of decent nightlife. No discos whatsoever. Which was odd but Flora found that she missed that. Her ex-boyfriend had a punk band while they were in college and she ended up finding herself being dragged around from seedy punk bar to discotheque for a while. She got exasperated with him after a while, since she was working on her PhD and she wanted him to settle down and focus on his own. He seemed to regard the whole idea of pre and post-doc as idiotic. He dropped out weeks before he would have gotten his doctorate. That pissed Flora off big time and they'd had a huge fight about it.

Rick had even come all the way out to Oregon to discuss the matter with her but it ended in her ordering Rick out of her house. That was the last she'd heard from Richard Sanchez for quite a while. She'd gotten a wedding announcement from Rick's mother in the middle of December, 1978, which was about six months ago, but that was all. _That was fast_, she'd thought with an irritated grumble. It was probably some brainless groupie that had latched on to Rick and she _really_ didn't care about that at all.

She opened the new bottle of wine she'd bought last week, poured herself a glass and rummaged through the most recent magazines that had been delivered. _The American Journal of Physics_ looked interesting, so she picked it up and made her way to her study. She lit a fire in her fireplace, curled up on the sofa with her wine and her magazine and began to read.

_Black Holes are discussed by English Physicist in recent talk at Cambridge,_ she read. Oh, she liked Black Holes. She was hoping that someday astronomers might be able to produce photographs of a real black hole and she hoped she'd be alive to see that. She smiled and began to enjoy the article. When she learned the Physicist was Dr. Hawking, she smiled even more. Hawking was another scientist she hoped she would be able to meet someday. She'd come close to meeting Dr. Sagan, a hero of hers but she'd just missed him. Which was Rick's fault in the end. The memory made her frown. Rick had insisted she accompany him to a gig the evening Dr. Sagan was speaking at Mt. Blacksmore and she'd bowed to her boyfriend's request rather than the begging of her best friend.

She sighed.

Well that memory ruined things. She frowned and took a long drink of her wine. Setting the magazine aside, she reached up to switch off the lamp and pulled a blanket over herself, settling into the sofa. Sipping the wine, she sighed deeply. She hadn't intended to remind herself of the problems between herself and Rick but her general frustration and Lily's innocent mention of him had brought him back into her mind, front and center.

Richard Sanchez wasn't a bad guy, not really. Not as bad as she liked to make him out to be much of the time. But he was a problem. An annoyance, a stupid genius that frustrated the hell out of her the entire time she'd known him. She hadn't started out dating the guy. Far from it.

Initially, Sanchez transferred into Blacksmore, which most everyone attending the school and even the professors, tended to call 'BackUpsMore', primarily because most of the people who ended up there were there because they'd been unable to attain admission at a more prestigious school for whatever reason. For Flora, of course, it had been because of her sister's jealous destruction of her science fair project. For Fiddleford, it was because Blacksmore was the best his rural Appalachian family could afford. He was one of the few students at BackUpsMore that was genuinely thrilled to be there. For Rick, it was a last chance school. He'd been kicked out of better schools all over the country and his father, a rich business tycoon, had put his foot down. Either Rick completed his education at Blacksmore or he was cut off. For good.

Flora worried, which Rick didn't ask for or want and their relationship exploded. It was never a great relationship to begin with, it'd begun mostly out of competition between the two of them, which was only softened by the fact that Rick really didn't see Flora as a threat because of her sex, he saw her as a threat because of her intelligence. One thing that could be said for Rick was that he really had no bias towards women. He pretty much saw all of the human race as _equally _stupid. Nobody was as smart as he was, at least in his own mind. Not even Fiddleford McGucket, though Florimel knew for a fact that Rick considered Fidds close.

Hmm. Glass was empty. With a sigh, she got to her feet, padded into the kitchen and retrieved not only the bottle but her journal. She always had a pen.

Setting the bottle on the table next to her, she curled back up on the sofa, hugging her journal to her chest.

* * *

"Well, well, well! Hiya Sixer!"

Flora went stock still, looking around herself.

"Yep, you're asleep, heh."

"Bill?"

"Yep."

"Why-"

"Been busy, kiddo." A shimmering of gold formed into the Triangle. "You know, being a Muse is busy work."

"Of course. I just... I was beginning to wonder if I'd dream- I, I mean, _imagined_ it all."

"Well you _did_ dream it all, Sixer," Bill chuckled. "It was just _real_."

"That makes no sense," Flora said.

Bill laughed. "You're right, even so, it's the truth."

Flora tilted her head. "I... why are you here?"  
"To help you. With my instruction, you'll be able to change the world. You have within you, the ability to initiate the world into the future, to create a future in which everyone will be _equal_, a future in which Science will usher in things only dreamed of in your science fiction." He settled down on the sofa next to her. "You love stories like _Star Trek_, do you not? Can you imagine a world in which a future like that of _Star Trek_ was real?"

"R-real?"  
"Yes. _You_ are the one to do that, my dear Florimel Pines. Otherwise I would never have been sent to advise you."

"Oh..." She leaned back in the sofa, mind whirling. There were so many things that _Star Trek_ proposed that could be so amazing..."

"Even that English show you like, _Doctor Who_..." Bill purred, "ever wonder if time travel were possible? With my help, my dear, it could be..."

Flora stared at Bill. "T-time... _t-travel_?" she managed, barely. "R-really?"

"Oh yes," Bill said easily, "time travel will be as simple as driving from New York to Los Angeles in the future. And all because _you_ were the one to create the technologies that eventually make it possible." If his eye could have smiled, it would have.

He patted her arm softly. She wondered at the gentleness in his touch. The strangeness, yet the comfort that filled her being at it. She looked at him, feeling a warm heat rising in her cheeks.

"Bill... I-I'm not sure I-"

"Shh, Sixer," he said with a soft, soft chuckle, "I know it sounds amazing. As though it's impossible that _you_ could do all this but trust me, flower-girl, it's not only _possible_, it's _fact. _In the future of your world, all will know the name of Florimel Pines, the woman who saved the world."


	4. Chapter 4: Dust in the Fire

Chapter Four: Dust In The Fire

* * *

_1980_

So it went, Flora would sleep and dream, which Bill would visit and share with her his knowledge and his plans for her people. He explained to her that the great, timeless entities that governed the great Multiverse, the _Atae, _were unable to directly intervene in their favorites destinies but They could send agents, like him, to gently nudge advancements. Humans called them _muses_, but Bill told her that it wasn't _quite_ what they were.

"More like what you'd call a 'mentor' or an 'instructor'. Much more mundane than your Ancient Greeks liked to think. They were actually a lot more fanciful than history gives them credit for."

Bill enjoyed chuckling at her genuine surprise at his revelations about things she'd been taught in grade-school, things she'd learned were the absolute fact in high-school and things she'd been certain were in fact solid science in college. She spent quite a bit of time wide-eyed and gasping at him.

He thought it was rather endearing, which only served to annoy Alistair.

Alistair, for his part, was really beginning to dislike the Earth woman. Bill had been taken with visionary humans in the past but _this_ was different. Florimel was different.

Ronnie said he was _jealous_.

Alistair smacked her in her gigantic kisser.

The next thing they both knew, people were taking bets on the outcome...

* * *

"Sixer?"

"Hmm... yes Bill?" She opened sleepy eyes to gaze up at the triangle. He'd become a welcome visitor to her dreams and she smiled up at him.

"You've been staying up too late again," he admonished gently, floating down to settle on the bed beside her. She pushed up in her bed, in the dream version of her bedroom and looked over at him.

"Well, I've been trying to make sure I have all of the information you've given me properly written down and notated. I've been trying to get everything typed out and filed. I'm planning to bind all of it in books as well."

"Your journals aren't good enough for that?"

Flora laughed. "For what you've shared with me? Not nearly good enough."

Bill chuckled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were developing a little crush on me, flower-girl."

Flora sat up a bit more. "Bill!" she gasped. "Why would would you say that?"

Bill just laughed softly, yet again. "Pythagoras. He was kinda into me.. he may have been a bit crushy, kiddo."

Flora smiled back at him. "Well... I'd say I definitely do not have a crush on you, Bill..."

To which the Dream Demon replied, "Of course you don't, my sweeting." And Bill knew how much his Florimel was _lying._ Of course, she really had no idea, not at that point, that she was lying, but Bill knew. He'd been through this before with humans in the past. Yet, nobody he'd dealt with, _nobody_ to this time, had been like _her_. Like his little flower-girl. Like Florimel Pines.

She was smart. Oh, that was the easiest of points. He could dig up a million like her. Smart was only an element, a bit of what he really needed in a human minion.

She was easily influenced. Because Florimel was female, in a time when female scientists were rare and hard to come by, when women in the sciences were considered inferior to their male equals, she was just that much more open, that much easier to connect with, to suggest. It certainly wasn't because she was simpler, it was because she was open. She was willing to consider things beyond that which was accepted in modern science.

And his sweet little Florimel was the jackpot, where this was concerned. She was open to _everything_. She'd dated _Rick Sanchez_ and her best friend had been _Fiddleford McGucket_. Flora kept company with some of the finest minds on Earth at that time. Bill _knew_ this woman was the key. She was his _gateway._ She just needed to continue to do the work he'd charged her with.

"Bill?" Flora murmured sleepily.

He winced inwardly. He'd loosened his hold on her and she was beginning to slip into what would be considered a _dreamless_ sleep. "Yes, my sweet flower girl?"

"What did you do before you became a muse? Were you ever..." she sighed softly, "_human_?"

Another wince nearly made itself apparent in his triangular body. "No," he said firmly. "I was never... _human_. But I _was_ a Flatlander."

"Oh!" she chuckled softly, "of course... I didn't think-what was that like, Bill?"

He grumbled to himself. "Not much different from the way a human might grow up, Sixer, I had parents, a house, I went to school, pretty much the same as you did, flower-girl."

"College? University?"

"No," Bill said in a flat, final tone. "Not for me. _Ever_."

_That _woke Flora up. "What? Why?" were the first words that spilled from her lips, which made her flush pink and she looked at him, eyes soft and sad. "O-of course," she said quickly. "_Flatland_. L-like the novel? I just never _imagined_ that it was more accurate than I-"

"It's _entirely_ accurate, Florimel," Bill said evenly. "Arthur Square was a real person. I'm not sure how his story was communicated to Abbot, but everything you have read is the same as what I read... what I grew up with... what I held close to my heart as a young Triangle."

Flora's amazingly soft and enticing brown eyes grew wide as she looked at him. "Bill..." she murmured, reaching a slim, six-fingered hand towards his angle, "I-I shouldn't have asked, it's painful to you-"

"No," Bill said firmly. "It was once upon a time but it's not any longer." His eye caught both of hers and held them. "You say you're not becoming enamored of me, yet you behave like this..."

She flushed pink. He liked that. He liked embarrassing her. When she lost her confidence, he liked it even more.

"But..." She swallowed hard. "I... I mean... you're..." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't insult you like that."

Bill chuckled. "What? You think I'm insulted because a mortal like you finds someone as _alien_ as I am _interesting_..."

"Errr..." She went even pinker. He decided he _loved_ that.

He chuckled again, softer. "More than 'interesting'... aahh... I've got access to your sleeping mind, my flower, perhaps I should _explore_...?"

"NO!" Flora cried, crimson blooming on her cheeks like roses. She coughed, gasped, coughed a bit more and buried her face in her pillow. Bill would have grinned if he were capable of it.

"That makes me want to look even more now," he chortled.

"Bill!"

He just laughed and let her go, slipping her into a deeper sleep, letting her think this entire conversation had been only imagination.

Once Flora was sufficiently sedated, Bill pushed into her mind, exploring. As he did, he began to see how much Florimel was enamored of him. It was sweet, really. She actually found him engaging, intelligent, sweet and comforting, all elements of what she really wanted in a companion. The only thing that was wrong, that he could see, was that he was a Triangle and she was a human and she couldn't figure any way the two of them could be any more than intimate friends. Which made her much sadder than she really would allow herself to be.

In essence, Bill was the perfect mate, except that he was not humanoid. She even had developed deep, hidden fantasies of how the two of them might enjoy a sexual relationship, but even those dreams involved strange elements like tentacles.

Bill found all of this amazing, enticing and entirely amusing. He was even willing to explore her deepest fantasies with her, but he wondered what she might do if she were presented with _exactly_ everything she'd wanted.

It was enough to make him chuckle and then even laugh.

* * *

_April_

"Flora!" Lily giggled as Florimel walked into the library. "Guess what? There's a new doctor in town!"

"Uh, yay?" Flora said, blinking myopically at the redheaded librarian, who'd grabbed her jacket sleeve and was practically beaming. "I know that, Lily. And I... thought you and James-"

"James is a jerk," Lily snapped. "And he can go to hell for all I care."

Flora sighed. Another argument between Lily and her fiancé. It seemed that every other week, the librarian and the town's exterminator were on again off again. She wasn't the only one really. The winter had been kind of rough on the entire town, as if a wave of negativity had swept through the valley and stagnated.

"I'm assuming he's cute?"

"Yes! And he's _Irish_! He's got the sexiest accent, Flora. Maybe you should meet him?"

"Uh..." Flora paused, looking at Lily quizzically. "I thought you were interested in him for yourself?"

"Err... well..." She shrugged a little. "I thought maybe you could use a little distraction. You haven't been around much since you broke up with that guy you were talking about. I bet you're working too hard." She offered Flora a small smile. "I mean, it's not like you haven't done that in the past, especially from what you told me."

"Uh, Lily-"

"We should go have a drink at O'Grady's this evening, I'm sure he'll be there."  
"Just because he's Irish doesn't mean he frequents Irish pubs, Lily."

"That's where I met him, Flora!" Lily said. "He told me he loved the fact that there was a little of home in Oregon."

"You could go to any town in this state and find at least one Irish pub, Lily," Flora replied, wondering why she seemed to be set on arguing with the girl who was the closest thing to a friend she'd had since Fiddleford in college. She frowned. "Sure, I'd like to go. But what if James is there today?"

"I could care less."

She sighed again. "Okay. Well, I need to do some work before I go anywhere and we can go after I'm done."

"The library closes at five on Fridays," Lily said, heading back behind her desk. "I know you know that. You act like you never remember, but I know you do."

Flora decided to laugh. "Yes, well. Sometimes work is more important than business hours." She headed back towards the Science section. "I can't stay out too late though. I have- uh- _work_ I need to do tonight."

Lily tilted her head a moment. "Okay," she said. "Don't worry."

* * *

Dr. Tiernan O'Rinn was a slender, sweetly handsome young man of about thirty, with large, expressive amber eyes and ruby-red hair he pulled into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck. He smiled often and was currently sipping from a tall glass of Guinness and chatting with the owner of a local convenience store, an older man with silvery hair, whom the townsfolk affectionately called 'Pa'.

Flora was actually startled when she saw the young man, since she didn't think she'd ever seen anyone with _actual_ amber eyes before. It was a striking feature and she wondered, glancing down at her own six fingers, if that might be considered an anomaly of its own. The doctor definitely was a bit unusual-looking, almost like one of Tolkien's elves. She knew Gravity Falls tended to attract the strange and unusual in humans as well as supernatural creatures, so she wondered if there was some other reason this young man had traveled across the ocean to settle in such a backwater as Gravity Falls.

It was enough to pique her scientific curiosity, so she walked over to the bar where he and 'Pa' Duskerton were chatting.

"Hullo," she said, extending her hand towards Tiernan. "Florimel Pines, local scientist."

The young man blinked. Pa grinned and the new doctor set his glass down, extending his own hand to grasp hers. "Tiernan O-oh my! You have postaxial polydactyly!" He grinned at her. "Fascinating!"

Flora found herself blushing. No one had ever treated her six-finger-ness in such a way before. "Oh, uh yes. I-I do."

Tiernan blushed himself and released her hand. "_Ach_, sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I've just never seen such _perfect_ polydactyly before, Dr. Pines."

Flora stared at Tiernan a moment, eyes wide. The red-headed Irishman flushed and looked down. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Doctor," he said shyly. "I'm always fascinated with the _unusual_... I suppose it's why I found m'self here, t'be hones't."

Flora blinked, then smiled. His accent thickened the shyer he became. It was hard to be upset at such self-effacedness and she reached out to clasp his hands in both of hers. "I understand entirely, Doctor O'Rinn," she said. "I'm not used to anyone considering my _mutation_ as anything other than a curse."

Tiernan's bright amber eyes widened and he leaned towards her earnestly, "No! Oh god no! I'd never-!"

Flora laughed and smiled brightly at him. "No, no, my dear doctor, please! I'd never think such of you! You're so kind to me, I could never!"

"Ach! Let me buy you a Guinness! O-or wine! Or whatever you'd like!" Tiernan said with a bright smile. Clearly he'd recognized her as a fellow 'strange scientist' and she brightened.

"Guinness is fine, Doctor," she said gently.

Pa Duskerton chuckled softly. "You kids chat, I'm gonna go find m'wife, before she flirts with half the place!"

Flora smiled at him and nodded. "Oh you!"

Tiernan laughed and ordered another Guinness.

Flora slid into the seat next to the Irish redhead. "So, school?"

"Dublin Uni-."

"Post-doc?"

"MIT and Blacksmore-"

"BackUpsMore?"

Tiernan's amber eyes went huge. "Yes! H-how-why?"  
"I went there. I'm currently doing my eleventh post-doc-"

"_Eleventh_?"

"Err... yes?"

"You know uh, McGuck-"

"Yes!" Flora stared at Tiernan. "How?"  
"He finished his degree in Computer Science. Along with some post-doc in Engineering and Computer Information Technology. I-I think he's planning to go into computers... like portable ones. Something you could carry like a briefcase."

Flora blinked several times, looking at Tiernan. "Uh... did you meet Fidds-er, Fiddleford?"

"Only a couple of times. We shared Computer Science classes. And Astrophysics. We both had that for fun."

Flora drew in a deep breath, taking a sip of her Guinness, then she looked at the young doctor. He _knew_ Fidds. Her best friend. Her _former_ best friend. Just like Rick was her _former_ boyfriend. She sighed.

"Uh, do you know what he's doing now?"

Tiernan laughed happily, entirely unaware of the weight of her question. "Oh, he's in California now! He got married and now he's working on a startup company to sell his briefcase computers. If anyone can do it, he can!" He smiled and took a drink. "I asked him to keep me in mind when he has a prototype. I'd love to test it for him! I mean, I want to eventually achieve a doctorate in astrophysics but I do love computers!"

Flora considered him a moment. The Irishman wasn't exactly a hard drinker, which actually made her chuckle, since a myriad of evenings hanging out with Rick had bolstered her own ability to hold her liquor. You couldn't be Rick Sanchez' old lady without being able to resist copious amounts of booze and _other_ intoxicants.

"You're friends with Fiddleford, huh?" she asked.

"Well, not as good as I wish," Tiernan admitted. "But yeah, we were buddies in class an' so forth." He smiled innocently. "He's so smart. I _wish_ I was as smart as Fiddleford."

"Same here," Flora said. "He was my dorm-mate and I love him so much. He's such a sweetheart."

"Oh!" Tiernan smiled. "Wow! I envy you!"

Flora laughed. "Oh, don't say that so fast, my friend. You didn't have to live with the incessant banjo music!" Even so, she was flushed with warmth, thinking about her friend. She'd missed him but until now, she hadn't realized _how_ much.

Tiernan chuckled. "Oh, well, I think we all had roommates with odd habits." He grinned at her. "I'm so glad to have found someone who went to ol' BackUpsMore."

Flora blinked, then smiled brightly, honestly at him. "Same here," she said sincerely. "Same here."

Tiernan raised his glass and Flora clinked hers against his. "Sláinte," she said, and he echoed the Irish toast.

Tiernan's face bloomed in bright, bright smile. "Irish?" he managed before drinking again.

"Wolford," Flora said, "On my mother's side. Jewish-Irish."

Tiernan sighed. "Ach," he breathed, "'s been forever since I've heard th' old tongue... since I met another Irish-"

"Ach," Flora echoed, "I only know Gaelic because my mum taught us. Never have been to Ireland, unfortunately."

Tiernan laughed merrily. "Well, if y' want t' learn more, let me know!"

Flora giggled. "You're too sweet, Doctor O'Rinn!"

"Ah! I know! I-I jus' wish some other boys would see tha'!" Tiernan laughed, sipping from his glass, flushed and happy and very clearly drunk.

_He's gay!_

"Boys?" she asked gently, "You're unattached?"

The young doctor sighed and nodded. "It's harder to find cute guys here in th' mountains, y'know," he said. "A-an' even harder t'find guys who are ... uh, ... _smart_ enough."

Flora gazed at him and found herself sighing. He had the same problem she did. Cute boys who were even marginally as smart as she was.

"I understand," she said. "It must be hard to be homosexual and a doctor."

Tiernan blushed. Hard.

"Yes," he said finally. "Very hard."

She reached out to clasp his hands. "I understand," she said gently, even though she really didn't. She wanted to, though. He was such a sweet young man, someone she'd love to have as a friend and it didn't matter to her if he was gay or not. It just seemed to make things easier really. They could bond over the fact that there really wasn't much out there for smart people like them.

Tiernan simply proved his own intelligence, even drunk, when he said, "No you don't, my dear. But don' think I hold tha' against y'. You're someone I'd love t' have as a friend... I-I'd hope y' feel th' same?"

Flora nearly cried at that. "Of course! Tiernan, I'd love to consider you my friend!"

Tiernan surged off the barstool and encompassed Flora in a hug. "Okay! You're officially my friend, Florimel Pines!"

Flora gasped but heartily returned the hug. "You're so silly!"

Tiernan chuckled and squeezed her. "Yes but I'm still happy."

* * *

_A few days later_

"Hello? Is Fiddleford McGucket home?" Flora swallowed hard, sitting stiffly at her desk, looking down at the paper under her hand. "Oh? I-I'm Florimel Pines. Yes. We went to college together."

The woman on the other end of the phone had a thick southern accent and she sounded a bit stiff. Flora sighed and took a sip of her coffee. "A friend of ours gave me the number. Oh... well. When he gets back, could you ask him to call me? Certainly. My number is 503-618-9999. Yes, Oregon. Thanks so much. Goodbye."

She bit her lip as she set the handset into the receiver. Maybe he'd call, if his wife actually _gave_ him the phone number.

Ah, well, it was worth a try. She hadn't realized how much she missed Fidds until she'd spoken with Tiernan the other night. It'd be nice to talk to him again. She was much more lonely here than she thought.

_Even hearing from _Sally_ would-_

With a grunt and a frown, she shook off that thought, grabbing her cup to go refill it in the kitchen. As she walked out of the study, she caught sight of a stack of papers she and Bill had been working on and sighed again. He'd been teaching her so much about physics and what she'd began to call 'paraphysics', hinting at something 'big' he was planning for her to apply these new skills to. This entire experience had been amazing and she wasn't even sure she comprehended _a quarter_ of it sometimes. She'd had to spend copious amounts of time in the library lately, using Lily's little boxy computer in the Librarian's office just to try to connect it to the bigger computers at Blacksmore and Stanford, but it was slow going, since Oregon's phone lines were spotty at best and she'd had to bring in her own modem (a homemade thing she'd inherited from Fiddleford). She'd been considering taking a drive up to Portland to use OSU's science department library and labs if the weather held. And that'd be an overnight, which she wasn't sure Bill would like much.

Computers were never a strong point of hers but Bill had been giving her plans to build her own at the cabin, which was spectacular but still required components and elements she just wasn't that experienced with.

_I wonder if Tiernan might be able to give me a bit of advice? He did say he liked computers..._

She set about refilling the coffee pot and absent-mindedly rinsed her cup out in the sink, staring out the kitchen window.

There was always a part of her brain working on Bill's teachings nowadays. Always running equations and possibilities for devices and options, always coming up with new questions she needed him to clarify. It tended to tire her out easily now and she'd found herself drinking far more coffee than she probably really ought to. It made trying to sleep enough to consult with Bill a bit more difficult but she had to be awake long enough to work. It certainly wasn't the best way to do anything and she found herself wishing Bill was able to have a physical presence while she was awake.

Her cheeks warmed a little and she paused, looking down.

Well, that wasn't the _only_ reason she wanted him around. If he were here, maybe she wouldn't be so lonely. If he were _here_ and _human_...

She closed her eyes. Immediately a fantasy vision of Bill, human, filled her mind and she felt her cheeks flushing deeper. She'd developed this image over the several months she'd known him, hidden away in a corner of her private thoughts where she was sure he wouldn't find it.

He was tall, of course, taller than she was. That was important, since she'd was somewhat tall herself and most guys ended up being her height or shorter. He was handsome, athletic, with a sleek, agile body. His large, expressive eyes were bright blue (why she thought they'd be, she wasn't entirely sure, they just always were in her fantasies), his features sharp and almost wicked looking. He had a long, aquiline nose, full lips that were almost always quirked in a mischievous grin, soft, raven hair that tapered down his slender neck to curl softly against his collar, fluffy and full in the front, layered in the style so many young men were wearing these days. He had slightly tanned skin, as though he'd spent a day on the beach. His style was classic, suave, elegant, almost old-fashioned. She figured, since he was almost always wearing that cute little bow-tie and top hat and carrying that crook-necked cane of his, he'd probably prefer Victorian elegance to the modern trends, which suited her just fine. (She'd never liked the chest-baring, open-collared shirts and loads of gold chains most eligible young men her age seemed to think were sexy.)  
She opened her eyes. God, if Bill ever saw that image, he'd never let her live it down. For a muse, he was kind of a trickster and she couldn't help smiling, thinking about him. He was most likely the best friend she'd had in a very long time, even with Lily in town. She'd always had trouble warming up to other people so the few friends she had were still not as close as, well, her twin. Lily was definitely a girlfriend and Tiernan was a welcome addition but she couldn't talk to them the way she could to Bill. He knew _everything_ about her and still wanted to be her muse.

_Maybe more?_

If only.

If only he were here.

If only he were _human_.


	5. Chapter 5: Drastic Times

Chapter Five: Drastic Times

* * *

_August 15, 1981_

"These X-rays are spectacular, Florimel!" Tiernan said, adjusting the thin gold wire-rimmed glasses he wore and grinned back at her. "I'm so grateful you agreed to collaborate w' me on this paper for th' Journal. This will help medical science immensely. It could even eventually help people with your condition improve their lives, possibly even achieve better tactile sensation in their digits."

Flora couldn't help the soft chuckle at the doctor's enthusiasm. She'd never really considered the fact that her polydactyly might be able to benefit anyone but Tenny's encouragement certainly opened her eyes to the possibility.

"This will be the first paper in medicine I've ever had my name on," she said. "I'm curious to see the results."

"Your hands are lovely," Tiernan said, "I'm surprised no one has ever told you that before. I'm also surprised this is the first time any doctor has approached you to consult on polydactyly."

She blinked. "No one has ever said anything like that about my six fingers."

"Well then, they're idiots," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "Perfect polytactly is _rare_. You're lucky. Anyone tha' says any different is a fool." He carefully placed the X-rays into a manila envelope and set it on top of the folder containing his research and notes.

He considered her a moment, tapping his pen against his lips. "You're _unique_, special. Same as me. It took me a long time t'come t'terms w'that fact. An' weirdness is better than bein' _normal_ any day."

"How are _you_ weird, Tenny? Aside from being- uh..."

"Gay?" Tenny said, "it's okay, you can say it. It's not an insult. Th' gay folks have owned it now." He shrugged a little. "Though I guess it makes sense considerin' yer background, eh?" He tilted his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm part fae. M'mum's entire side of th' family is descended from th' Tuatha Dé Danann." He flushed a bit. "So all those years when bullies were callin' me a fairy, they weren't too far off th' mark."

Flora just stared at him a moment.

Did the town doctor just tell her he was a supernatural? The self-depreciating remark nearly sailed over her head. "Tenny!"

"Err, well... my Father liked t' use tha' word a lot back home."

She blinked again. "Christ, Tenny."

He chuckled but he shook a finger at her. "Don' blaspheme, Florimel."

Now it was her turn to flush. She sighed. "Sorry. I forgot you're _still_ Catholic."

He just grinned. "Make it up t'me. Buy me a Guinness."

"O'Gradys it is then."

* * *

_September 1_

"SIXER! You're quiet this evening!" Bill chortled. He floated near her desk as she sat staring into Mindscape versions of the blueprints she'd drafted recently, unseeing.

"Tired, I guess."

"News Flash, kiddo: YOU'RE ASLEEP!" He laughed, eye curling in a good-natured 'grin'. When she didn't respond, he nudged her. "Florimel? Sixer? Hey? What's up?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about my friend and some things he said recently." She said. "He said I was weird, just like he was. But the only thing that makes _me_ weird is my six fingers. _He's_ an actual supernatural."

Bill paused. He was uncharacteristically quiet a long moment. "Is he?"

"Yes, he's fae. Tuatha Dé Danann."

"Huh, I didn't think they came out this far."

"He's Irish. The doctor I told you about? Tenny."

"Yes. Doctor Tiernan Ryan O'Rinn."

She blinked and looked at him. She'd never told him... wait, she didn't even _know_ Tenny's full name.

"Err... yes," she said. "Tiernan. I met him a little over a year ago."

"Yes you did," Bill said. "And he's not wrong. There's more to you than you think, sweeting. Anyone who finds their way here is generally _unusual_ and _you_, my dear, have a destiny. So it makes sense that your fae friend could sense it. Obviously he's here to support the Great Work we're doing. All the paranormal entities here will be lend their energies to our grand project." He 'smiled', clasping his hands dramatically, "When it's complete, the barriers that separate the mundane from the supernatural will be broken. Harmony will finally be achieved and both our worlds will know an era of knowledge and cooperation previously only dreamed of."

She tilted her head, a slight smile curving her lips. It was rather endearing when Bill rhapsodized like this.

He looked at her, dropped his hands, even flushing peach a moment. "Err, well. Hey! I have an idea!"

"Sure, Bill. What is it?"

He took her hand and pulled her into the air with him. The world faded from her study to the lovely blue and purple nebulascape she loved. He took her other hand and gazed into her eyes with his large one.

"I know you're tired, kiddo. It's a lot of work even for as brilliant a mind as yours. Humans have a limit and I realize I've been pushing yours. If I were to do the work while you were sleeping, it would help us both. I could ensure you'd get the sleep your human body needs and we could do twice the work in half the time!"

"But how, Bill? You said you're not able to take on a physical form and even so, what if someone saw you? I mean, you're a _triangle_."

He frowned a moment. "Yeah, and?"

"I-I mean, you're not something people see every day!"

"Sure, that's why I can use your body while your mind sleeps!"

She blinked, frowned and then went crimson. "Uh... my _body_? How is that helping _me_? My body would still be awake... a-amongst other things-"

He chuckled. "Embarrassed I might see something you don't want me to, sweetheart?"

"NO!" She flushed harder. "I-I mean... physically it's not getting any rest if you're using it."

"Oh that. Don't worry. If I'm occupying it, it won't be aging for one thing, nor will it be hungry or tired. In essence, it'll still be resting... in a kind of state of stasis. You understand the concept of stasis, right?"

"In a science fiction sense, yes," she said.

"There you go then," he said with a chuckle. "Just like that. When you wake up, you'll feel as if you'd been sleeping for a healthy eight hours." He leaned closer to her, eye nearly touching her nose. "So, is it a deal?"

Flora laughed softly at his dramatics. "Okay, Bill..."

Bill drew back and extended a hand, his eye grinning merrily.

"Then it's a deal," she said, unable to stop herself from smiling back at him. She clasped his hand firmly. "From now until the end of time."

Bill's hand erupted into a glittering blue flame. "Just let me into your mind, Florimel."

She shook his hand and smiled brightly. "Please, call me a friend."

"Oh, so formal!" Bill chortled. He executed an elegant bow, which was even more impressive considering his triangular form. Tipping his hat to her, he caught her hand up in his again and kissed it. "I think we can both agree we're more than friends at this point, flower-girl."

Flora giggled back at him. "Oh, this was so silly!" she said. "And fun! You'd think we were formally engaged or something!"

Bill smirked a bit and chuckled again. _Little do you know how right you are..._

* * *

Alistair was annoyed.

He paced his own apartments, arms tightly behind his back, eye frowning as he grumbled to himself.

He hated feeling this way, hated being taunted by the other, lesser demons about his preoccupation with Bill's new protégé, hated feeling as though his power and influence over Bill was... _waning_. The longer the Triangle spent with the girl, the more Alistair was losing in the long run. Normally, he'd just make the problem go away, but this wasn't a _normal_ situation at all. He couldn't kill the Pines woman, since they actually _did_ need her to complete the gateway so that they could leave the Nightmare Realm before it disintegrated completely.

He paused, snapped his fingers and a glass of wine appeared between them. He sipped as he brooded. Sure, he was jealous, he'd accepted that. Sure, the woman was quite attractive and if things had been different, he might have decided to play with her himself. That wasn't the problem anymore. In his mind, Bill had always been _his_, even if Bill thought _he_ was the dominant one in their relationship. Alistair never minded playing lieutenant to Bill, that was fun and he enjoyed watching the Triangle come into his own as a legitimate demon, just like every other initiate he'd collected for Them.

When the Empress of the Atae put Bill and Alistair on Her hit list, he didn't even care, since Bill was _his_ and he was the _best_ of all of his apprentices. Alistair knew Bill could become a threat to Her and it didn't scare him one bit. In fact, he welcomed the idea that finally _someone_ could overthrow the _Atae_, break their stranglehold on reality and change the Multiverse for the better (at least better for Alistair, Bill and their friends).

If anyone could do it, Bill Cipher could. He'd done a similar thing before, when he _liberated_ Flatland.

Alistair hadn't been afraid then.

Now, however... if Bill were to _discard_ Alistair in favor of this Earth woman...

Alistair growled under his breath. He wouldn't let that happen. No matter what he had to do.

* * *

Bill was pacing the Dream Suite, as he had every night that autumn, muttering to himself. He didn't even realize he'd shifted forms. He grumbled, dragging fingers (five of them) through thick curls of ebony hair and shook his head.

This was bad.

He'd tried not to obsess about it, but it was driving him insane. He didn't have time for this kind of distraction. Waiting for the girl to fall asleep yet again was getting tedious and the longer he waited, the more he obsessed.

Every. Damn. Night.

It had been a while since they'd agreed to let him move in and out of her body at his discretion but he was stymied by the fact that Flora, like all humans, had a physical cycle. She couldn't stay asleep _all the fucking time_.

_Tuatha Dé Danann..._

Dammit. That was vague. _Too_ vague. Of course Flora was polite and hadn't pressed the Irish doctor any further but it was important. Depending on _what_ Court of the Fae the boy was descended from, it could be... disastrous. If he had any _real_ powers beyond some _perceived_ notion of paranormal sensitivity like most fringe humans seemed to think, he would be a problem.

The anchor for the Portal was nearing completion. Flora didn't even realize she'd already been working on the base framework of the Universe Portal this entire time. The 'blueprints' he'd given her were actually the final step in getting the Portal up and running. The anchor was only the beginning. And now, he'd been able to take advantage of Flora's deal with him to even speed _that_ up, making some adjustments while the woman slept but they'd need to work faster. She was only human after all.

Snarling under his breath, Bill glanced up, into the miasma of the Dreamscape. No, she wasn't asleep yet. Even with the two of them using her body, the stress was eventually going to cause problems. She wasn't a supernatural, even as strong as she was. His influence was beginning to show even in her waking hours. Normally he'd find this amusing. She was a tough girl. In this short time, he'd already added at least five years to her lifespan, _that_ much he'd been truthful about. However, each night he spent inside her was making minute changes on the quantum level.

He chuckled. The thought brought him up short. That wasn't the only way he wanted to get into Florimel Pines.

Perhaps _any_ time he spent as a third-dimensional creature had affected _him_ as well.

This kind of thought process was interesting,_ different_. Not to say he wasn't a sexual being, he took great pride in his diversity but he was, at heart, a Flatlander. That wasn't to say he didn't find it entertaining and pleasurable, he just wasn't used to the _intensity_ of the sensuality of mortal beings. It was staggering, _intoxicating_ for his native form.

In a _human_ form though... ah, the _possibilities_...

He could definitely see what Alistair liked about the whole thing.

To be truthful, he couldn't think of _anyone_ he'd like to _experiment_ with more than Flora.

Sweet, soft, curvy, pretty little Flora. His Sixer, his flower-girl... In the time he'd spent in her body, he'd learned quite a few _intimate_ things about the woman. It was almost as fun as working on his plans for conquest. Plans that had begun to include the little human _beyond_ the activation of the Portal.

She'd make a _lovely_ pet.

Ngh! He was getting off topic!

_Tiernan _Quinlan-_O'Rinn_. Oh yes. _Quinlan_. He'd made a point to keep _that_ particular tidbit from Flora. She didn't need to know her best friend was the brother of a man she detested. That damn Irishman was going to screw everything up if he didn't do something about him. And fast.

This possession thing wasn't going to work on its own. He needed_ more._ Flora needed help and she needed help that only Bill could provide. He'd be damned (again!) if he let this _last_ chance slip through his fingers. He had _plans_ and those involved being in the Third Dimension, full powers intact.

The only way he could take out the Empress and the Atae was on Her own terms.

He wasn't the only one who wanted the Atae gone. He had allies waiting in the wings. They weren't going to wait much longer. Even Old Frilly wouldn't be able to stop him from removing the Empress. Indeed, The Axolotl wouldn't even try. And Bill Cipher had an army of his own accord. He had the entire Host of the Nightmare Realm at his back, with Alistair and the hordes of other disenfranchised demons the Empress had declared her 'personal' enemies. A War was brewing. Even She knew it.

His self-imposed exile was coming to an end.

He had to make sure some silly one-lifetime fae didn't decide to try and interfere.

Tiernan Quinlan-O'Rinn had to _die_.

* * *

"SAY ALISTAIR! LISTER, OL' BUDDY, OL' PAL!"

Alistair started bolt upright from his chair, the book he was reading toppling to the floor, as Bill swung into his apartments, glass of wine in one hand and a huge grin on his... _face_?!

"Bill? Hell! You... you look... like... uh... _hot_!"

Bill dissolved in loud laughter.

Alistair's silvery skin flushed crimson and he choked, coughing. "I-I mean-"

"What this? I was tryin' something new!" Bill chortled, spinning elegantly for his friend. "Like it, huh? Yeah, I pulled it out of Florimel's pretty little brain."

"Uh..."

Bill sauntered over to Alistair and clapped him soundly on the back. "What? You shift all the time. Half the time I think you can't remember if you're flat or bumpy, buddy!"

"Err... well... I know you like my Flatland form-"

"Yes, you _know_ how much I do-"

"Why, Bill? Why the human costume? You never liked to shift before."

"Never said I _didn't_ like to, just never saw much of a use for it. Old habits and all that jazz."

"Bill, you're being obtuse! Just answer my question."

"Awww, Lister, I'm _acute_, not obtuse."

"Cute, Bill. Real cute."

"And according to you, I'm still pretty damn 'acute'!" Bill laughed again and took a long drink.

"Bill!"

"Geeze! Okay, okay. Fine. I need a favor from ya. I never asked for this before, so I guess I'm kinda nervous."

Alistair's eyes widened. "Okay..." he said after a moment, "uh, what is it, Bill? You know I'm going to say yes, already. It's not like I can ever deny you anything."

Bill coughed slightly and straightened up. "Well, you know how you can translocate between dimensions? And I can't?"

The differences between the type of demon Alistair was and the type Bill was were minute but significant. Alistair could move between dimensions by his very nature. Bill, having once been a mortal, did not have that ability.

"Uh huh." He considered his friend coolly. "It's not particularly easy with the current situation but I can do it providing the destination is close enough to me."

"You can if there's an anchor in place."

"Is there?" Alistair's stomach began to sink. He knew where this was going.

"I need you to translocate to Gravity Falls."

"Why?"

"Florimel needs help."

_Damn straight she does. She doesn't even _know_ how much._

"Yeah and you want _me_ to help her? I'm not a physicist, Bill."

"I am."

_Oh shit. That's why he's suddenly enamored of shifting._

"You want me to translocate _you_."

"Yeah. And you too, Alistair. We need all the help we can get and I don't trust anyone else to do this. She's making friends with a Fae and I can't let him get in my way."

"You think this Fae might warn her? They don't know we're here. Neither Court are aware of our movements, not since they expunged our focus from Ireland."

"I don't even know if he's from the Courts, Alistair but I can't take any chances."

Alistair sighed and dropped back into his chair. He picked the book up and set it on the table beside him. "Bill-"

"He's making _friends_ with her. He told her he was psychic and that he comes from a line of Irish Witches. He's a scientist. A doctor, but more than that. The kid's a _physicist_."

"Witches." Oh. That _was_ bad. "Family name?"

"Quinlan. Goes by O'Rinn though."

_Crap._

"O'Rinn is an old Witch family, Bill. He's not kidding."  
"HA! I knew you'd know more, you old Scottish devil."

Alistair groaned. Yes, his ancestors were sometimes referred to by the Picts as kelpies but he hated it when Bill called him a devil. "I'm not-"

"Okay, okay! SHEESH! Sensitive little thing, aren't you!" Bill slid easily into the chair facing Alistair as though he'd worn a humanoid form his entire existence. "I thought maybe _you_ could investigate him and keep him away from Flora. Then I can help her finish the Portal. More hands makes quicker work. That way she won't be tempted to call for outside help."

"Ah, like _Sanchez_?"

Bill's handsome face soured and he spat. "_Yeah_, exactly. Him or someone else from the University."

_Like McGucket._ He didn't say as much, but Alistair knew Bill was thinking about the girl's college roommate just as much as he was her ex. Bill already hated Rick Sanchez before he'd ever run across the Pines woman but Fiddleford McGucket rivaled Sanchez in intelligence. At least if McGucket were on the project, he had a much smaller footprint in the greater Universe. He could easily be taken care of if needed. Sanchez was another story altogether.

"Yeah, okay. I see the problem now, Bill. I'll help. The thing is, and you never answered me, _is the anchor finished_?"

"Well, no-"

Alistair made an exasperated noise. "I can't translocate _two_ beings without a solid anchor. Especially not _you_. You've never _been_ a human before, Bill."

"I've spent the last... uh- two? human months sharing Flora's body, Alistair, I think I know my way around the third dimension!"

"Yes but it's a lot more than just hitching a ride, Bill! There's _much_ more to it than just that. Once we're there, you can't just jump back and forth at will anymore. There's this thing called _temporal displacement_, for one. We don't want to draw attention from _anyone_ who monitors temporal flux. For another, we have to be able to _survive_ as humans. We won't have powers there, at least not like what _you're_ used to. We will have to take care of our physical forms, which means things like eating, sleeping and all that."

"God, Alistair, you take all the FUN out of it!"

"Well, if we were able to jump dimensions on a whim, we wouldn't _need_ the Universe Portal."

"Yeah... well..." He glared into his wineglass a moment. "You think I don't already _know_ all of that, Alistair? That's why I came to you. I need your translocation ability and I need _you_. You gotta help me with the Tiernan kid. And anyone else who comes along. _Including_ Sanchez, if it comes down to that."

"You want me to take out_ Rick Sanchez_." It wasn't a question.

"He can _die_ just like any other human."

"Wow. You're serious."

"I am." Bill sipped his wine. "If it causes ripples, well then we'll just add the Citadel to our list of targets once the Portal's complete."

"List?"

"Just below the Empress."

Alistair actually _did_ choke on his wine this time. "Wait, are you _serious_?"

Bill just looked at him. No smile. No jokes. He just stared back with those big, yellow, cat-slitted eyes of his.

And for the first time in his long, long life, renowned hunter-demon Alistair Kendrick was _afraid_ of Bill Cipher.


	6. Chapter 6: Winter Solstice

Chapter Six: Winter Solstice

* * *

_1981, November_

Tiernan was staring, wide-eyed at the reams and reams of papers, journals and blueprints scattered all over the office, the living area and the furniture. He blinked, looking over at Florimel with a flabbergasted expression.

"_You_ did all of this, Flora?" he finally managed. "It... it looks like... well I'm not sure I even _know_. It's amazing!"

She breathed a soft sigh of relief. At least he hadn't reacted in dismay or ridicule at the sight of the project. She'd been debating on letting Tiernan in on the project for a few weeks, since the young doctor was definitely one of the smartest men she'd met, a lifetime student, like she was, a man continuing to educate himself even though he was an accomplished MD with a couple of Masters in Astrophysics and Computer Science. The project was proving to be difficult, which wasn't unexpected but it was also proving to be beyond her skills in a few key areas. Those being computer science and engineering.

"I'm not sure even I understand all of it," she admitted. "You know how it is, sometimes the, ah, _muse_ just hits you and you go into that creative high. But I know it will change the world. If I can manage to get it built." She rubbed the back of her neck a moment and smiled ruefully. "I think I might need some help with the engineering part."

"Well, if tha's what you need, Fidds would be th' best person t'ask," Tiernan said simply. "I'm a programmer, not an engineer... at leas' not like Fiddleford is. I, uh, I had to focus most of my studies on medicine, of course, so I wasn't able to really pursue computers th' way I wanted. But I do know enough t'say tha' this is _ambitious_, Flora. An' if it actually works th' way it looks like it's intended to... ach mo dia. It _will_ change th' world. Th' _universe_." He grunted something under his breath, which sounded like, "I need coffee," in Irish.

Tiernan's arrival almost seemed serendipitous considering he was in the process of working on a post-doc in Computer Science as well as his Astrophysics degree, so she figured it wouldn't hurt to at least ask him what this looked like. It always helped to have another set of eyes on the data. Of course, she didn't tell him _everything_. Bill wouldn't like that, she was pretty sure. Even this little revelation might upset her friendly but sometimes a bit volatile muse.

"Does your boyfriend know about this little writing project?" Tiernan was saying, coming back in from the kitchen with a couple of cups of hot coffee. He'd wandered off while she was standing in the living room, staring at the blueprints scattered all over the floor. He handed her one, which she took, blinking absently. "You look tired, by th' way. Your eyes are a bit bloodshot."

"What? Boyfriend?" she stammered, "I don't have a-"

"Sure y'do," Tiernan said, sipping. "Yer in _love,_ anyway. It's _obvious_. It's been obvious since I met y'." He carefully pushed some papers aside to sit on the sofa. "An' if it's not y'ex yer still pinin' after, then it's someone _else_. Someone y'keepin' close t'yer chest, so t'speak."

Flora stared at him. "Tenny, you know Rick is _married_. I haven't seen him since '79. I haven't been seeing anyone-"

"Uh huh. Who's 'William' then?"

She went stock still.

She'd known Tiernan for over a year now and was used to his occasional weird moods. He was a lot like his mum, he said, who was a _witch_, amongst other things. Flora believed him.

"Look," he plucked a sheet of paper from the chaos around him and handed it to her. "Y'know I'm a bit psychic but this isn't exactly hard t'miss."

The paper he handed her had several formulae and a couple of sketches of components on it. Of course he'd have noticed it first, since there were some designs for computer circuits and several lines of code down one side. On the other side though, was some spidery scribbling of the name 'William', a couple sketches of Bill himself and then a trail of... _cryptographs_ down the rest of the page. As she glanced around, her eyes caught several more scraps of paper with the same kind of cryptographs scrawled on them.

She'd never seen those before. Never seen those, nor the code.

"I-I... uh..."

"Looks kinda like wha' I us' t' do in class when I was bored and more interested in th' cute boy in the seat next t'me," Tiernan said. "An' some interestin' ciphers there too. So, who's William, besides th' metaphorical cute boy in th' nex' seat?"

"A-a... a _friend_," she finally managed. "A friend I see occasionally. I've been up too late a lot and I doodle when I'm sleepy."

Tiernan just smirked.

She'd never actually seen the handsome young Irish doctor _smirk_ before. When he did he looked a lot less sweet and innocent and a bit more sinister.

It reminded her of something or_... someone _she couldn't put her finger on at the moment.

"Ah, a _friend_," Tiernan said smoothly and then grinned. The shadow was gone from his face and he was the good-natured guy again. "Uh huh. Well, I hope y' invite me t'th' weddin', Sarahbeth Florimel." He chuckled. "I've seen enough people in love t'know wha' it looks like. He'd best appreciate it, cause otherwise, he doesn't deserve you."

Flora took a sip of her coffee and dropped into a nearby mustard colored armchair. "Uh... that's sweet of you to say, Tenny, but I don't think he's really interested in that kind of relationship. He's a friend, a uh, _colleague_. We're working on a project together-"

"-this one, right?"

"Tenny!"

He chuckled and sipped his coffee. "You're kind of transparent, you know, mo chara. Honestly, I'm glad f'you. I jus' wish y'd find someone t' be with. If I can't, I want m'best friend to be happy an' not work herself t'an early grave. Not sayin' this whole project isn't _important_ an' good for humanity but even good old Carl Sagan took a break t'write stories an' make TV shows sometimes."

"I'm not good at talking to men, Tenny."

"Wha'? An' I'm a puppy dog?"

Flora laughed. She couldn't help it, he pouted at her with big eyes just like a puppy. "Well you _are_ but that's not the point. You're not a... you're my _friend_. It's different!"

Tenny tilted his head and smiled gently. "I know. Florimel, this colleague of yours isn' goin' t' know how y' feel until you talk t' him. If he's as much of a friend as he seems t' be, he'll listen an' understan'. An' if he doesn't, he doesn't deserve yer friendship, let alone y'love, my dear."

"Why do I end up _friends_ with all the men who are perfect for me?"

"You're too shy. Smart as hell but jus' as stupid in love as I am. Y'can be the mos' brilliant mind of th' time an' still be stupid when it comes to emotions. Fidds was th' same. An' that arse Rick wasn't right f'you, s' yer better off. Y'have a chance with this William guy of yers. You'll end up kickin' yerself if you don' at leas' try."

_If only it were that easy._

She sighed. "I'll think about it," she said finally. At least that was true. She wouldn't _stop_ thinking about it. She hadn't stopped thinking about it for a long time.

"Good. And get some rest, I'm beginning t' worry about you."

* * *

_December 21_

Flora rubbed her eyes. Her hand came away wet, tinged with a faint rusty color. She frowned. She must have a scratch near her eyes, she figured. It wouldn't have surprised her, she'd been absently rubbing at her temples and her nails were getting kind of long. She hadn't really spent much time taking care of herself lately. She usually kept her nails short. Getting up from her desk, she shuffled into the bathroom to stare at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, apparently the ponytailer had fallen out some time ago, chestnut curls tumbled everywhere and she looked exhausted. She'd not been sleeping well, or enough, even though when she was asleep Bill was working on the project. He'd told her if she let him take control, she'd wake up feeling rested but that happened rarely. Most likely because she was too antsy to sleep much more than a few hours at a time. He'd scolded her about it several times.

It seemed the pressure was getting to him as well. He was a bit shorter with her nowadays. She'd often fall into sleep to find him pacing restlessly, as though he were just waiting for her to sleep so he could get to work. He was also being much more affectionate with her, which she found odd (and at the same time, thrilling). He liked to ruffle her hair and touch her much more than he ever had before. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was 'human' for a good part of the time now. His voice had changed too, it was softer when he spoke with her, much less of the shrill 'yelling' that seemed to be his normal speaking voice. She'd just chalked this up to the fact that he was an extra-dimensional being and spoke on a slightly different frequency than she was used to. She was definitely enjoying the change in her muse, well, except for the times when he was clearly irritated with her. He wasn't an angel though, she supposed his kind had emotional ranges just like everyone else.

A loud rattle shook the cabin, followed by the low groan of the wind as it battered against the building. The sound didn't startle her, it just made her sigh.

_This is how greatness happens, with a little help from a friend._

Bill had said that to her what seemed like ages ago, one day when she was on the verge of tears because she just couldn't get an equation he'd explained to her several times already. He'd drifted close to her, put a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly, in the same kind of voice he tended to use now, patting her gently. Once she'd calmed down, she'd been able to understand and she'd beamed up at him.

_See, you're not stupid, Flora._

She just wished he'd been able to hug her. She'd found herself dreaming about him much more often, when he was working, dreaming of being enveloped in his arms, held like she hadn't been in years. And in those dreams, his arms had been human. _He'd_ been human. She was craving human contact more in these past weeks than she ever had before. Even Tenny's strong, sweet hugs weren't what she needed. He knew that.

_Tiernan_.

How long had it been since she'd seen him? The beginning of November, when she'd shown him the blueprints? What month was it anyway? She looked at her watch. A little DEC showed in the tiny window in the space where the three would have been on other watches.

_December._

Oh. She'd been shut up in the cabin for at least six weeks then? She wasn't even sure what _day_ in December it was, just that it apparently was four-fifteen AM. God, was it Hanukkah? Or Christmas even?

In the past, she'd always put a tree up in the living room, even if she never got around to decorating it. Mum always insisted on having a tree.

They were lucky, the twins learned. They got to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, when most kids just got one or the other.

She dragged herself out of the bathroom, determined to find a calendar.

_You should sleep._

That wasn't her voice. It was Bill's. It sounded slightly irritated.

_I can't help you if you don't sleep._

"I need to get this work done," she said out loud, looking in a junk drawer for the little postcard calendar the bank sent her every year. She found one, but it was 1982's. That didn't do her any good unless it actually _was_ the 31st.

_Florimel!_

He never called her Florimel unless he was trying to get her attention, or more recently, was pissed.

"I need to find out what day it is, Bill!"

_The day you need to go to sleep!_

God. She must look like a madwoman, shouting at the walls in the middle of the night.

_Stop being an idiot. You're _better_ than that! Go sleep and let me work._

Flora frowned. "Bill, you're being an ass," she growled and stomped into the hallway towards her bedroom.

Silence.

She grabbed a clean washcloth, wetted it in her bathroom sink and scrubbed her face with it, hard. Tossing it into the sink, she pulled her sweatshirt and sweatpants off, threw them on the floor, dropped her glasses on the nightstand and crawled into her messy, unmade bed. Reaching out to switch off the lamp, she heard a soft sound, then:

_I'm sorry._

The darkness fell around her and she lay there, eyes wide open.

Bill never apologized for anything. What did this mean?

"So am I," she whispered.

_Just sleep. Okay? I'll take care of us both._

* * *

Bill stared at the shifting miasma.

Why the hell did he say that?

She _insulted_ him! _No one insults _Bill Cipher!

Well, except Alistair but that was different. Alistair could get away with it solely on the fact that he was... well. He was his _friend_. More than that really. Bill _cared_ about Alistair. Maybe he didn't love him the way Alistair _wanted_ him to but... he... yeah. He _loved_ Alistair.

_So. I-I don't _love_ Florimel Pines! I... maybe I _like_ her... but. _

No. Not love. Florimel was just a pawn. She was a useful tool and that was it. Sure, he liked her. She was smart, cute, funny (sometimes) and she genuinely liked him, which even _he_ had to admit, was rare. Bill Cipher wasn't an easy person to like. He never had been, even when he was mortal. How many times had Alistair told him that exact same thing?

_So why did you apologize, then _comfort_ her?_

With a snarl, Bill dismissed that annoying thought and turned back towards the image of the girl, finally falling asleep in her bed.

Maybe he'd give her an hour, then he'd get to work. She was stubborn and she _did_ need some kind of respite, even if it was just an hour.

He'd noticed the advanced effects their collaboration was beginning to have on her body, notably the bleeding from her eyes. That wasn't good, generally it took longer than a few months for that kind of thing to happen. Granted, they were working extremely hard and he'd been possessing her much more often than may have been good for her.

They _needed_ that anchor complete!

Alistair was being just as stubborn as Florimel on this one. He _refused_ to even try to translocate without it and that was becoming intolerable. They were so _close_ though! A night or two more and Bill was certain he'd have it complete enough to be useful and he figured Flora could finish up the final computations and component installation. He was restless, so restless it was driving him to distraction.

_Which is why I slipped up in the first place! _he reasoned with a soft cackle. _I'm losing _focus_! The damn woman is distracting me too much!_

Better to get this thrice-damned project finished and get on with the Real Work. Once they were through the Portal, _everything_ would change!

* * *

Flora awoke the next day, in bed, for a change, with freshly washed hair and wearing a clean nightgown, which surprised and embarrassed her in equal measure. The nightgown was yellow, she noticed and new. It was in her style and suitably modest but it was _new_. Had Bill been out and about in her body? Had he gone to the village and _bought_ nightgowns for her?

Um, this was weird on too many levels!

"Bill?"

_Yes, my dear?_

"Did you buy a nightgown for me?"

_Of course. You have very little in the lines of decent clothing, you know._

God. What was his idea of _decent_ clothing? "I have plenty of clothing, Bill!"

_Yes, well, a t-shirt that belonged to your father is not a nightgown. And no, you don't. Half the time you dress like a man._

At least she hadn't woken up naked!

A hot flush engulfed her entire body. He'd taken a shower in her body. He had to have done, how else would she have had clean hair and uh... clean everything else?

"Bill..."

_What? You think I haven't seen you naked before? I do live in your mind, more or less, these days._

Six-fingered hands clutched the modestly high neck of the nightgown even further up, bunching it right around her chin. Okay, this was just weird. It wasn't like she didn't think-well, yeah, it was exactly like that. It just never occurred to her that Bill might decide to take a shower, or go into town and buy clothes, interacting with other people _as her_.

"Um."

_Flora, you entertain _intimate_ fantasies about me all the time, yet _this_ is what embarrasses you?_

"BILL!"

He gave an exasperated sigh. _If it makes you feel any better, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You're a lovely human._

"Arrgh!" She buried her head in her hands. "You're exasperating."

_Yes but I know you love me, sweeting._

She paused. Blinked. "I... uh..."

_C'mon..._ his voice was playful, amused, lighter than it had been in weeks. _We're friends, aren't we? More than friends, I think we can both admit. Oh, sweetheart, don't be like that..._

Flora was shocked to discover she was sobbing. Tension, frustration and the stress of the work overwhelmed her and she slumped down into the sheets, blubbering like a baby. Which was humiliating. Doctor Florimel Pines _never_ cried!

Except once.

She snarled at herself and rubbed the sheets against her face. She was a modern, independent, Liberated woman of the 80s. She _did not_ cry!

_You're being kind of cute._

"Dammit Bill!"

He just laughed and the lightness of it actually lifted her spirits a bit.

"Bill? What's going on? Why-"

_Oh my dear... I'm just happy. We made some massive strides last night. Things can progress even faster now. Soon, we'll be able to meet eye to eyes... _he chuckled again. _Then you can finally get that hug you've been craving._

"God dammit Bill!" she cried, flushing again and burying her face back in the bedclothes. "I'd say stay out of my mind but..."

_You don't _really_ want that, do you?_

"No..." she groaned into the fabric. "Ugh... sometimes I hate you."

_No you don't._ He chortled teasingly, _You can't hate me. You _luuuve_ me._

"_BILL_!" she squeaked.

He just laughed and she couldn't help it, she joined in. His enthusiasm was infectious and the more she giggled, the better she felt. After a few moments, she was just curled in her blankets, giggling until she was breathless.

_Do you feel better?_

"Yes," she managed finally. "Much better. Th-thank you, Bill."

_Also, to make you feel even better, my dear, I ordered that nightgown out of the JC Penney catalogue. It was delivered a few days ago. I found it under a pile of snow on your back porch. I don't exactly know how to drive that tank of yours and I'll be damned if I was going to _walk_ to the village in this blizzard._

Flora just lost it at that point.

_Ugh, there's no talking to you when you're like this!_

* * *

"What is it now, Bill?" Alistair drifted, in his Flatland form, into Bill's apartments.

The Triangle was examining a holographic display hovering near the entrance to the Dream Suite and for once, it didn't look like the plans for the anchor, or for the Universe Portal.

"What's that?" Alistair blurted before he could stop himself.

"A fun little project I'm playing with," Bill muttered, swiping a long-fingered hand through the display, which morphed and reassembled itself into another confusing complex of images. "I call it 'the Quadrangle of Qonfusion'. I was inspired by the complex Slaanesh created to trap encroachers. It'll be an _impossible_ to comprehend maze that only _I_ know the way out of." He chuckled. "And it will be _fun_ to watch them try and _die_!"

Okay now _this_ was the Bill he remembered. Chuckling himself, he made his way over to his friend's side. "You're chipper today, kid," he said, "I guess things went well with the little human."

Bill just snickered and continued to add twists and turns to the crazy mass of angles hovering before them.

Looking over the Quadrangle, Alistair chuckled. "Looks amazing so far. Nice to see you finally taking ol' Slaanesh's suggestion."

"He never-!"

Alistair laughed. "Oh yes he did, you old monster, you're just employing your notorious selective memory again."

Bill snorted. "Huh, well."

"You're kind of an arse, Bill. But I like you anyway."

Bill shook his angle slightly. "I could kill you for saying something like that."

"But you won't."

"No, you're right." Bill's eye smirked a bit and he glanced sideways at Alistair.

Alistair grinned back and patted Bill's angle. "So, why'd you call me? Surely not to show me your new toy?"

"Nah, this is just fun," Bill said and turned towards his friend. "The anchor is completed," he said, his form brightening, "so we can proceed! Finally! Unfortunately it happens to be in the depths of winter but we can make it work."

"Work? Ah, how?"

Bill disengaged his shape from Alistair and made his way to the bar. He summoned a couple of glasses of wine and sent one sailing over to the Rhomboid. Alistair plucked it deftly from the air and settled into a sofa.

"I've already laid the groundwork for our human identities, though Flora doesn't realize it. Heh, she may when she gets her credit card bill but I'll take care of that when we get there. I've procured us a shop."

Alistair blinked. "A-a... _shop_?"

Bill rolled his eye. "I know my way around commerce, Alistair. Just because I never _was_ a merchant, it doesn't mean I don't know _how_ to get into business."

"What kind of shop? And _why_?"

"You said we needed a cover. This is it." He sipped a moment then glanced over at Alistair. "We're going to own a Music Store. The town needs one and well, the space was for let, so I grabbed it up. On a _promise_. Heh."

Alistair stared at him a moment. "Okay..."

"It has a rather old-fashioned but refined two bedroom apartment on the second floor. The place is perfect for us."

"Ah and what about money?"

"Not a problem. We can conjure whatever we need and stay below the radar. That kind of thing doesn't cause a blip as long as we don't lift it from somewhere they regularly monitor. A little here, a little there, it vanishes and people are none the wiser. Particularly if it comes from... ah, less than legitimate sources. These people don't believe in magic. They won't know where it went." Bill's eye curved in a grin. "The rest of it, well, that's nothing. Nobody cares about magically summoned stock and whatever. Clothes, food, all of that, drop in the bucket. We can be as elegant as we want." Of course _that_ was important to him. Bill was always extremely well-put together, even as a Triangle.

Alistair considered this. All in all, he was pretty thorough, keeping their magic low-key was perfect. Humans wouldn't figure it out and the _real_ concerns, entities like the Atae, the temporal monitors, the Axolotl and those guys, _they_ were the problem. Money was ephemeral after all. Most advanced cultures had disposed of outdated concepts like currency ages ago.

"I have to admit, Bill, you've thought of everything."

"I have! The store will be fully stocked as soon as we translocate and we are set to open right after the new year. I even have an account established with the local High School's Music Department. Sweet kid, she's kind of a shy thing but their Band Director was overjoyed to have a music store directly in town for once."

"You _spoke_ to a human?"

"Well, I wrote her a letter. She thinks she's dealing with me but I used Flora to write the thing."

"You? Bill Cipher wrote to the Band Director of the Gravity Falls High School?"

"_William Sifras_ did. Well, William Sifras and his cousin, Alistair Kendrick."

"Ah." _I'm his _cousin. Alistair sighed softly. At least he'd had the forethought not to make him his brother. "Bill, on Earth, the surname Sifras is Lithuanian and Kendrick is Scottish," he said. "We must have a weird family."

"In Oregon, they don't care," Bill laughed. "And anyway, if it's not weird, I don't want it."

Alistair sipped his wine. "Well, alright. It seems you've got your heart set on this and you actually made a solid plan for the first time in forever. So, sure. Let's do it. When?"

Bill chortled.

"As soon as possible. It'll be a _hell_ of a Christmas present for our little Florimel, won't it?"

'_Our little Florimel.' So she's _both_ of ours now, is she?_

"Sure," he said with a sigh. "It sure will, Bill."

"Damn straight, Lister!" Bill said with a merry chuckle. "We're just that much closer to everything we ever wanted. Just keep that in mind, old pal. Once we get working on the Portal, you get that Irishman out of the way and _everything_ will change! We will be _free_ and the Atae will bow to _me_! _The event one billion years prophesied will _finally_ come to pass!_"

And just like that, it was back to Bill Cipher.

Only Bill.

Alistair could almost physically _see_ his protégé slipping further and further away from him.

"Yes, Bill," he heard himself saying. "Yes, of course, Bill."


	7. Chapter 7: It's Funny How Dumb You Are!

Chapter Seven: It's Funny How Dumb You Are!

* * *

_December 31, 1981_

Flora gazed at the catalogue laid out on her lap. It was thick, heavy and dated 1980 but if Bill had been able to order something from it, it must still be somewhat good, she figured.

These clothes. Nothing seemed particularly _practical_ to her. Polyester, rayon, gauze, some cotton. Didn't they have any twill or denim? She sighed. _God. Sally would know what to get._

She shook her head. Some of it was really _pretty_, she had to admit but nothing was really _her_.

There was this dress though.

It was soft and flowy, in a misty deep rose color, trimmed with fine, crocheted lace. It was cotton gauze, easy to clean and would look pretty no matter what. _We'd look great in that, sis!_

Flora groaned, trying to shake the sound of her sister's voice out of her head.

_I wonder what Bill would think of it?_

_That_ thought made her cough and slam the catalog shut. _Why_ would she even entertain an idea like that? She tossed the book aside and got up to brew a fresh pot, shaking her head.

No, her clothes were fine. It wasn't as if she were dating anyone. Who had the time anymore anyway?

The computer server base that she and Bill were working on was finished and she was impressed at the amount of work he'd been able to put in on it lately. She looked over the work and learned so much, just by observation, which ended up filling at least one pack of notebooks and she knew it would make a great paper eventually. Maybe even gain her another grant!

She could use it, the money was finally beginning to run low and she wasn't sure she could make the bank mortgage after 1983. Luckily the land had been relatively cheap and the house itself was paid off since Dan Corduroy built it but there were still taxes and so forth. The Northwests weren't making it any easier since she bought the land from them and they were becoming increasingly more nosy about what she was actually _doing_ on the land. Northwest had underhandedly threatened to get the bank to re-evaluate her mortgage if she didn't file some kind of land use grant for the laboratory he believed she was running there. It wasn't legal but he had the money and clout to make life harder for her eventually. She'd already listed the place as a private research laboratory and that should have been enough. She wasn't pulling power from the town since she had her own generator, she wasn't polluting the groundwater, the air, or causing any kind of disturbances in Gravity Falls, so she was sure if she hired a lawyer, Northwest would back down.

The problem was, she couldn't _afford_ a lawyer and Northwest knew it.

Auldman Northwest knew she still had money and he wanted a cut. It was extortion, pure and simple. Everyone else in town was afraid of him, nobody wanted to stand up to him since his family had supposedly 'founded' Gravity Falls and he had the police, the bank and most of the commercial and residential buildings in his pocket. She was the only one who wouldn't back down and it clearly rankled the man. It was bad enough that she was some outsider from Back East, an educated scientific professional and an independent contributor to the town overall. But what made it the worst was that she was a _woman_.

Flora grumbled, pouring a cup of coffee. Northwest was 'a piece of work' as her mother would say. His son, the little brat Preston, wasn't any better. If someone didn't take that kid under hand, he was going to turn out worse than his father, she was sure of it.

"Bill?"

Silence.

Huh. He'd been quiet for a while, since they'd finished the server and she'd been hooking the terminals up on her own for the past couple days. He'd do that occasionally in the past couple years, saying he 'had other work' to do, whatever that meant. It was still odd, not having him around, lending a factitious comment or snarky joke.

She missed him.

_Awww, you _missed_ me!_ Bill chuckled merrily in her mind. _Aren't you too sweet for sugar!_

She spluttered, spewing coffee all over the kitchen table. "BILL!"

Her only answer was his laughter.

"Where have you been?" she managed, coughing, grabbing a kitchen towel to sop up the coffee mess. "Yes, I _did_ miss you, there's still computer work to be done and you know more about that code than I do!"

_What? You know UNIX. It's not hard. _I'm_ doing the Assembly. Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm back... I've just been busy planning a little _surprise_ for you._

She paused. Blinked. Tilted her head. "Surprise?"

_Oh yes. And no, I'm not going to spoil it by telling you. Trust me, my flower-girl, you will _love_ it._

"Bill... you-you didn't have to-"

_Nonsense. I'd be lying if I said it was _just_ for you, it's for me-_us_. And that's all I'm gonna tell you for now._

The phone rang.

_That_ startled her. The lines had been down for at least a week since the blizzard hit and she hadn't even bothered to check the phone since she didn't really have anyone she needed to call. If she really needed someone, there was the short-wave. Tenny had one too, so they'd been chatting off and on since the blizzard had snowed her in. The plows didn't go into her property and she hadn't felt like hooking up her manual snowplow blade to the truck. Tenny offered to come in and plow her drive but she hadn't taken him up on it. She was busy and she really hadn't felt like talking to him about Bill anyway.

She _knew_ he'd ask.

"Bill, the phone-"

_Yeah, yeah. Answer your primitive form of distance communication._ He softened this with a throaty chuckle that sent shivers down her spine. _I'll be here._

She got up and went to the living room, where her one and only 'Princess' rotary was located.

"Hello?"

"Ach, finally! Th' lines are back up, mo chara!"

"I know, Tenny, you're calling me!" Flora couldn't help laughing a little. He sounded excited and when he was, his accent became almost impossible to understand. "What's got you in such a flurry?"

"New shop openin' in town! I understan' there's a couple of young guys runnin' it. Janene has been writin' with one of 'em but she hasn't met him in person yet."

"J-Janene?"

"Yeah, y'know? Janene Baker, the Music Director at the High School?"

Flora sighed and dropped into the sofa. "No, I don't actually."

"Oh! Well, she's been setting up a contract w'these guys to supply instruments to the school band."

"Instruments?" She was lost. "Tenny, I've been holed up in the lab for two months now, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh! It's a music store, with instruments an' all? An' records too, I think. Everyone's been talkin' about it at Greasy's an' O'Gradys for a week now."

"A week?"

"Oh, yeah, well, we all jus' found out around Christmas."

She loved Tenny but sometimes he just didn't understand that the town life wasn't really something she was interested in. She loved her adopted town but it could be so... _small town_ sometimes. "Ah."

"You don't care about this, do you?" he sounded a little contrite. Not _hurt_ exactly, just... a bit embarrassed. "You're busy, eh?"

"Not really," she said with a deep, audible sigh. "Tired. Been working a lot lately."

"Through _Christmas_?"

"Uh huh. Sorry, Tenny."

"Ach, mo dia! Lookit' me, talkin' about Christmas to a Jewish girl! Geeze, Flora, I'm sorry!"  
"No, no, no, Tenny, that's not it at all! I'm _not_ Jewish. We were non-practicing and we celebrated Christmas too! I-I just... forgot."

"Oh."

She _felt_ that pause as much as if he were sitting right next to her.

"Bill?"

"Yeah."

"He _there_?" Hope tinged his rich voice. "Maybe _celebratin'_ w'ya?"

"Um..."

Tenny laughed softly. "You talked to him?"

"Well..."

"You haven't. I can feel it. He's not there and you've been working yer arse off through th' holiday an' you haven't _talked_ to him about anythin' other than yer project, huh?"

"Well-"

"On th' short-wave."

"Well... kind of."

He sighed deeply. "I should come out and see you."

"No, no, Tenny, it's okay, really!"

_He's nosy._

"Bill!" she snapped before she realized Tenny was still on the line.

"What? He _is_ there, isn't he?"

_Yeah, I sure am!_ Bill's voice was... even. Colored with _something_ she couldn't quite put her finger on. It made her pause. _Was he jealous?_

"Yes, Tenny," she said finally. "He's been here for a while. I-I just... didn't want you to get all... happy about it."

_He's _happy_ about me?_

"Later!" she said.

"What?" Tenny replied, curious. "Later what? Or was tha' t'him?"

"Yes, yes. To him. Uh... yes, he's here and no, I haven't talked about that with him yet."

"Ah."

_Talked to me about what, Florimel?_

She covered the speaker of the handset and closed her eyes. "Later, Bill, I promise!" she whispered.

"We've been busy," she said to Tenny. "Just working. It's been nice though. We've had a lot of time to get some great work done and we just lost track of time. He's been a complete gentleman the whole time." She didn't like lying to the man she really considered her best friend but she didn't know any other way to throw him off the scent. "I mean, I'm so glad you called. I do like to know what's going on in town sometimes and a music store is going to be wonderful. I've been wanting to get some new Classical albums for a while."

"Well, I was gonna say tha' maybe one of those new fellas might be someone you might like to go out wit'-"

"Or _you_," she said with a soft, tempered chuckle. "You never know. Music people can be a lot more, uh, 'with it' than-"

"Doctors," Tenny supplied. "And yes, the thought had occurred."

"And I think that'd be great," she said, smiling in spite of herself. "I really hope so."

"Lily was th' first one tha' suggested it," Tenny said quietly. "I'd never entertain-"

Sounded like her. "Yes. I understand. She suggested you call me, too, didn't she?"

_This 'Lily' sounds even nosier!_

"Well, yes."

Flora laughed. "She's been trying to find someone else for me since I dumped Rick. And it looks like she's been trying to matchmake you as well."

"Well, yes."

_You humans are weird._

"Tenny, you know I love you but I do need to go. I'd like to see you sometime soon though. Maybe next week, once I plow out the driveway."

"Of course, mo chara," he said, "I understan'. Jus' do me a favor, okay? Talk to William. If he's there, then it's th' perfect time."

"Okay, Tenny. I'll let you know how it goes."

"Jus' remember, if he turns y' down (an' I don't think tha's possible) he doesn't deserve you."

_Wow. Just. Wow._ Bill's voice was still cool, controlled. If she didn't know better, she would swear he _was_ jealous.

"I will, Tenny. Have a great New Year, okay?"

"You too, Florimel. Good night."

"Good night, Tenny."

She hung up the phone and dropped back into the sofa with a loud huff.

"Bill. You're a filthy evesdropper!"

_Yeah. And?_

"Tenny is my best friend. He worries."

_What is it he's so desperate for you to tell me?_

She shoved up from the sofa and went back into the kitchen, took a long swig of lukewarm coffee, drew a deep breath in and said: "He wanted me to tell you that I think I'm in love with you and that if you didn't feel the same way-"

_I don't deserve your love. Right. Got it._

And with that, he was gone.

She dropped into the chair at the table and flopped, face-down on the tabletop. "Shit."

* * *

Bill _hated_ Tiernan O'Rinn.

He glared into the Mindscape, grumbling. He just _had_ to push her, didn't he? They didn't need this kind of interruption in their work right now. The damned Irishman nearly spilled his plan on top of that.

"ALISTAIR!"

It took a moment but the Rhomboid materialzed in the ante-chamber of the Dream Suite. "Bill? What? What's happened?"

"I want O'Rinn DEAD!"

"Oh come on, Bill."

Bill glared at Alistair. "He's _deliberately_ trying to fuck this up!"

Alistair sighed and looked sympathetically at Bill. "I doubt that, Bill. I really do. He's just a human and he's her friend. He might be a Fae but he has no idea who we are. Nobody does. At least not in that town. And I checked, the Fae have no idea where we are. He's just some stupid kid. That's all."

Bill fumed, pacing back and forth.

"Bill, you're jealous," Alistair said, clearly trying very hard to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"I AM NOT!"

"Yes, you are. Don't think I enjoy saying it either."

"YOU'RE JEALOUS!"

"Yes," Alistair said evenly. "I think that's more than obvious. There's nothing I can do about it but yes."

Bill whirled on Alistair and glared at him. Alistair just stared back, quietly, unmoved by his tantrum. Looking at him, Bill just fluoresced angrily, yellow-white with rage. Alistair continued to say nothing. Not, 'Calm down, Bill', not, 'You'll figure this out'.

Nothing.

"GET OUT."

He didn't move. Just stayed right where he was, gazing back at Bill, his lavender form calm and quiet. Almost, _sad_.

"ALISTAIR KENDRICK, DID YOU HEAR ME?"

"Yes."

"THEN GET OUT!"

"No."

Bill's shape flared white but Alistair didn't move.

They floated there, staring at each other for a moment that didn't really exist in the Nightmare Realm.

"You know," Alistair said finally, "I've been your friend for millennia. You can't scare me. I understand what's going on even if you don't. And I don't care. We've never been this close to getting out of here and you're letting your emotions derail you. There's a human we need to get that job done and you've been 'going native' for too long. I'm calling you on it. Get your act together and act like a demon. The Pines woman is a tool, nothing more. You know that and I know that. You're getting affected by the possession and it's showing. Nobody in this Realm needs to see you like this. It's just the effects of the human state. _My_ emotions don't matter. Neither do yours. Or hers."

Bill blinked. "Well," he growled, "if you're going to _make sense_, I don't want to-"

"Oh shut the fuck up, Bill!"

Bill's eye widened. Alistair rarely cursed and it was... _funny_. White softened back to golden-yellow and he stared at Alistair a bit longer.

"O'Rinn still needs to be eliminated."

"Yes, that's true," Alistair said calmly. "And when we're done with our plan, Florimel can be dispos-uh_, taken care _of as well..." he blinked and added quickly, "in whatever way you see fit."

_So, _Bill thought,_ he wants her dead. _

That thought was even funnier.

A soft chuckle escaped him. "You're so transparent, Alistair."

"Well. I suppose so."

"You won't get what you want but in the end, I don't think you'll mind," Bill said with a shrug of his angle. "We will be the ultimate victors in this war. Florimel will be a toy, nothing more. It's always been you and me, Alistair."

"Yes," Alistair said, seeming to relax a bit. "Bill, we can't lose focus. I've come to terms with my own feelings. I don't _like_ it but I'm accepting it. Infatuation is fleeting."

"I'm not infatuated."

"Oh you are," Alistair said, sighing. He gestured and a glass of wine appeared in his hand. He took a long drink. "But I suppose it's in your character to throw yourself into your work."

"Gimme one of those," Bill said, drifting past him and into the central suite of his apartments. "Incandescence is thirsty work."

He trailed into the suite and settled into a chair. So Alistair was incredibly jealous of Flora and wanted her dead as much as he wanted Tiernan O'Rinn dead. It was stupid. So incredibly stupid, which made it funny... not just funny... _hilarious_.

He couldn't help the chuckle bubbling up. A moment later and he was laughing, hard, _loud_. So hard and loud that his shape shook, hard enough that he couldn't hold the glass Alistair summoned for him.

Alistair just observed, mildly sipping from his wine.

"How idiotic do I seem to you?" Bill managed, trying to settle enough to sip his wine. "'Going native'! Hell, Alistair! I'm _you_! I'm fucking you!"

Alistair blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"I'M YOU!" Bill cackled. "I've gone and done an Alistair and I didn't even know it! I never realized how hopeless you were until _now_!"

Alistair's eye frowned. "Bill, that's cruel!"

"Yeah, it is, I know!" Bill looked up at him. "You fell hard and you went all Flatlander even when They chastised you for it."

"Bill!"

"Nah, I love you, Alistair, you know that! I never would have come with you if I hadn't."

"Bill, they killed your family-"

Bill shot him a blistering look.

"Bad choice of words. But you went with me because you were desperate."

"If I hadn't been as besotted with you as you were with me, I never would have _believed_ you."

"Uh..." Alistair sighed. "I suppose that makes sense."

Bill sighed and settled back down. "You, my dear friend, are right. I've been letting this get to me and I'm _better_ than that. We get to the Falls, we get this Portal work finished and this whole thing will be a distant memory. I may kill her, I don't know yet. Maybe she'll agree to join us? We could use another scientist, you never know. Maybe I'll let _you_ kill her, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Alistair actually looked startled at that. "You would do that?"

Bill shrugged. "Maybe, you never know." And he really didn't at that point. Infatuation, as Alistair so logically said, _was_ fleeting after all. He sipped his wine. "But, we can have _fun_ with her if we want, can't we? What's life without a little _fun_?" He grinned with his eye and tilted his angle, "C'mon Lister ol' buddy, you love fun..."

Alistair seemed as though he were considering this new information. "You'd _share_?"

"With you? My best buddy? My _lover_? Of course!"

* * *

Tiernan O'Rinn considered the phone as he put it down.

Flora was stressed. He wondered if she was eating right, or at all. If she was drinking too much coffee. She didn't _smoke_, did she? He never recalled seeing her with a pack of cigarettes, so he didn't think so. She hardly drank, he remembered seeing an unopened bottle of wine on her counter with a layer of dust on it and no hard liquor in the house. She sounded... _off_, though. He wondered if there was something more to this colleague of hers than just scientific work and office crushes. Was he like that Sanchez fella? God, he hoped not.

"Tenny! It's almost midnight!"

He looked up, Lily was leaning in his office door, auburn hair mussy, giggling, with a glass of champagne in her hand and he could hear the sounds of the party in his living room but he didn't feel festive at the moment. "Uh, right, be right there!"

"Lily! Come on!" James' voice bellowed from the living room. "I wanna _kiss_ you at midnight!"

He stared at the phone.

Something was off. He just wished the itching in the back of his soul was more than a _nudge_.

"C'mon! We're all waiting for you! Is Flora gonna come over?"

"No," Tenny said with a sigh. "She's snowed in and busy tonight."

Lily paused. "What's up?"

"I dunno," Tiernan said honestly. "Just seemed kinda... off."

Lily stepped into the office. "Oh, is she sick? Poor thing!" She was tipsy, it was obvious.

"Yeah, th-tha's it," Tenny said, standing. "She's sick. Bit of a dose from th' weather. I'll go see her t'morrow if she asks. Said she was goin' t' take some aspirin an' go t' sleep. She'll be fine." He made his way towards her. "Don't worry about her. I'll take care of her."

Lily blinked and nodded. "Okay," she said, sounding relieved. "You're the doctor!"

_Yeah,_ he thought, with a deep sigh, _I'm the doctor._


	8. Chapter 8: Mystic Dreams Come True

Chapter 8: Mystic Dreams Come True

* * *

_January 4, 1982_

GRAND OPENING, MYSTIC DREAMS MUSIC STORE!

The headline blared across the front page of the Gravity Falls Gossiper, since it really was the biggest news that had occurred recently in the little mountain town. The newspaper's editor, Mrs. Ophelia Determined, proudly proclaimed the store as the best thing to happen to Gravity Falls since Old Farmer Sprott shot at that mysterious flying object that was seen heading east in 1947. Mrs. Determined reported, with relish, her interview with the 'two handsome young men' who ran the shop, a Mr. William Sifras and Mr. Alistair Kendrick, adding that 'they're single, ladies!' in a comment below a candid photo of the men that splashed prominently across the majority of the front page. The two young men grinned sheepishly at the camera amidst a showroom full of pianos, Hammond organs, stands of music books, cassettes, record albums and band instruments.

They were indeed, handsome, both of them, somewhat tailored and elegant looking for such a small town, clearly out-of-towners but Ophelia didn't care, she declared them the new town darlings and invited the public to visit them at their new shop and show them a 'good old Gravity Falls Welcome'!

And when Ophelia Determined told the town to do something, they did it.

In a _big_ way.

* * *

Of course, Florimel Pines didn't see the newspaper. She didn't take it. She only took the Portland, Seattle and National newspapers along with a large swath of scientific journals and magazines. Well, and one JC Penney's catalogue that Mum insisted on having sent.

She awoke in a flurry of disorientation on the living room sofa, confused and still in her clothes. A quick glance at her watch told her it was JAN but that was about all she really knew.

With a sigh, she dragged herself into the kitchen, trying to orientate herself and figure out what she'd been doing last, when she fell asleep.

After that New Years disaster, she'd gotten a bottle of wine, settled in on the sofa and started in on it, trying not to think about what Bill was thinking, nor about the project, nor about Tiernan worrying. After she finished the fourth glass (which killed the bottle), she fell asleep.

Cleaning the percolator was a decent distraction for a few minutes, washing the cups was another.

As she turned to set the coffee maker up, she caught sight of a postcard lying near the flour canister.

_Gravity Fall$ Bank, Where You Can **Count** On Us, All Year!_

Oh yeah, the calendar. She looked picked it up and looked at it. Okay, so if Thursday was New Years Eve, then it had to _at least_ be Friday, the first.

Hmph. While the coffee brewed, she went back into the living room and called Time and Weather.

"Today is January fourth, 1982. The Current Time is: twelve-thirty PM. In Roadkill County, Oregon, expect flurries into the evening with a low of thirty-one. National Weather System message OR-09-581."

January fourth? What the hell? Why couldn't she remember anything since Thursday?

Goddammit.

"BILL!" she shouted to the rafters, "TALK TO ME!"

_Ah! Busy. See ya soon!_

And again, silence.

Least he was talking to her? That was good, right?

She heard the percolator bubbling in the kitchen, so she headed back that way.

What did he mean, 'see ya soon'?

She poured a cup of coffee and was about to sit down to drink it when the telephone rang.

_Tenny, I'll bet my soul._

So, she plodded _back_ into the living room and picked up the phone. "Doctor Pines."

"Heya, Doctor Pines, it's Doctor O'Rinn!" he sounded excited, _again_. "How'd it go?"

"How'd what go, Tenny?"

"Yer talk w'Bill?"

"Uh... well." She looked into her coffee cup. "Wanna meet at O'Grady's for a drink? I'll tell you then."

He was quiet a moment. "Sure, but first, we need to stop in at the new store in town and say 'hi'. We ought t' be friendly an' welcome th' new folks."

"Store?" Oh, right. The music store. She took another drink and shrugged. Why not? She needed to get out and a glass of Black and Tan could wait while she was 'friendly' for a little bit. She _could_ look for a new album while she was there. And help Tiernan scope out the new guys in town. It's what friends did, didn't they? And she _did_ kind of owe him for her behavior of late. "Yeah, sure. I-I'll head out-oh wait-"

"The drive? Don't worry 'bout tha', kiddo. Dan plowed it out f'ya without even askin'. I _might_ have mentioned it at the party th' other night."

"Awww, he didn't have to do that." Dan Corduroy was kind of a sweetheart when it came down to it.

"Heh, his wife kinda nudged him to do it," Tiernan chuckled. "Anyway, I'll come pick y'up. Just be ready in about thirty minutes?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Okay. Let me get... cleaned up at least. I think I slept on the couch the last couple days."

"Florimel-"

"Don't start, Tenny. You can yell at me all you want in the car."

"I'm gonna hold y't' that," he said with a snort. "Bring a coat, it's nearly freezin' an' it's gonna get colder."

"I, uh, I know," she said. "See you soon."

She hung the phone up.

_See ya soon._

* * *

Flora pulled her beloved trench coat around her as she climbed out of Tenny's little red Toyota Cressida and looked over at him. He waved a gloved hand towards the crowd of people gathered around in front of one of the shop windows down the street. It was an older, beautifully kept Victorian-inspired brownstone, next to the five-and-dime and the newspaper offices. It had been empty for a couple of years. She remembered driving by it when she first came into the town and wondering about the furniture store that had occupied the space. It'd looked out of place which was why she noticed it. It was a kind of expensive place for a little mountain town. It was even out of her price range.

"Wow," she said, "it's pretty popular already."

Tiernan laughed. "Well, not surprising, it's so quiet around here. Hardly anything _interesting_ happens in Gravity Falls!" He said it with love, however. He was so enamored of his adopted home it was actually _very_ cute.

She couldn't help laughing at that for a variety of reasons. He didn't know _half_ of what happened in the town, none of them did. Gravity Falls was the most _interesting_ place she'd ever been! Even now, she could see flashes of red from the caps of curious Gnomes who were secretly observing the commotion from hiding places all around the street.

One saw her looking and waved. That was probably Schmebulock Senior, a Gnome she'd struck up a friendship with over the last summer. He was grinning and pointing towards the crowd. This was interesting for the denizens of the Falls as well, apparently.

She gave a slight nod and turned back towards Tenny, who was rubbing his hands vigorously together and huffing in the cold.

"Let's go see!" he coughed and patted her on the back. "Mrs. Determined posted a picture of 'em on th' front page t'day. They're _cute_, Flora!"

She let him hurry her toward the group of citizens, some of whom recognized them (well Tenny at least) and moved to let them through. She glanced through the window but couldn't see much past the displays of instruments, posters of recently released record albums and price tags. Tenny opened the door for her and she stepped through, into the blessed _warmth_.

Piano music swirled around her as she found herself engulfed in a comfy warm, congenial air, with another group of citizens crowding the pristine, glimmering showroom. Several were crowded around a group in the center of the showroom, where the amazing music was coming from. They were singing and cheering as whomever it was _playing_ the piano was, well, 'jazzing up the place'. There was no better term for it.

The music was infectious and she was smiling along with the classic old standard the pianist had turned into a rocking good tune.

Even Rick would have appreciated it.

The music segued into another standard, a jazzy piece made popular by one of her Mom's favorite singers and a voice, an amazing, beautiful, bright medium tenor welled up from the crowd around the piano.

A voice that immediately sent shivers down her spine.

She gasped audibly and found herself pressing through the people.

At the piano, an elegant, huge black grand, dressed in a bright gold smoking jacket and black dress trousers, his curling raven hair mussy and tousled around a bright, smiling gorgeous face, sat the man of her dreams.

_Literally._

"BILL?!" she shrieked and Tenny actually physically startled next to her.

The man at the piano looked over at her, not even breaking a note as he skillfully brought the song to an end.

He caught her eyes with his own bright, _impossibly_ blue ones and grinned.

Flora's world went kind of hazy and she just stared at him.

"Florimel Pines, my dear!" he purred, standing, pushing the piano bench back with a fluid movement. He stepped to her, took up her hands in his and cast her the wickedest smirk she'd ever seen on a man, including Rick Sanchez. "_Surprise!_"

With an elegant flourish, he pulled her up against him, slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her.

Florimel Pines _melted_.

The crowd fell silent a moment, then they cheered.

_You like my little surprise, flower-girl? _he whispered in her mind.

Florimel just kind of lost it at that point. Only Bill saw the tears as she wrapped her arms around him, his tightened around her and she returned his kiss with all the pent-up frustration and longing she was capable of.

_I guess that's a yes!_

_How...?_

_Never mind, Sixer, I'll explain it to you later._

Flora's mind was in a spin, she couldn't think straight. Usually this would have unnerved her but right now... _right now_... It was just Bill. He was _here_, in her arms. He was hugging her as tightly as she was him and he was _kissing_ her.

He was _here_.

He was here.

And he _loved_ her.

* * *

Tiernan was stunned.

There was no other word for it. He was in plain, bald-faced shock.

He stood to the side of the room, just _staring_ at the dark-haired man _kissing_ his best friend. Florimel Pines, who was as shy as the day was long, was standing there, in _public_ no less, snogging the very same guy she'd been obsessing over for months and she didn't even seem to _care_. It was... well... good, he guessed but at the very same time... _strange_. No one else seemed to think this was weird at all, they were laughing and making cute comments about how _romantic_ it all was. Mrs. Determined was snapping candids of the 'happy couple' and gushing.

Tiernan wasn't so sure. What was worse, was that he didn't know _why_. He should be happy for her. This was exactly what she wanted and what he'd wanted for her. He just hadn't expect this 'Bill' to be... _that_ guy. He'd pictured someone more like Fiddleford or maybe a bit trendier like Dr. Sagan, not some flashy guy who wouldn't have been out of place singing in a piano bar in Chicago.

He'd expected 'William' to be more... _bookish_.

"Excuse me," a low, heavily accented voice said and Tenny blinked, turning to the speaker, who was at the moment, trying to get through the crowd and had bumped his shoulder. The taller man paused and looked over at him. Tenny's breath caught and found himself staring into bright blue, no, _violet_ eyes, eyes that were part of an almost impossibly gorgeous, youngish face that looked about as bothered as he felt. "Ach, mo dia, s-so sorry."

"Ah, I uh, need t'get some air," the violet-eyed stranger said. "If you will-" The young man paused, staring back at him. "You're not Irish?"

"Well yes," Tenny managed. "Y-you're... S-Scottish?"

"I suppose so," the man said, not breaking Tenny's gaze.

"Y'm-mus' be... K-Kendrick, A-Alistair Kendrick?" He groaned inwardly as his nervous stammer came out full force. "T-Tenny-I-I mean, T-Tiernan... T-Tiernan O'Rinn. Town doctor."

Those lavender eyes widened significantly. A long-fingered hand wrapped itself around Tenny's coat-sleeve and he found himself being pulled, forcibly, out into an empty area of the store, by a display of High School Band instruments and catalogues. "_You're_ Tiernan O'Rinn?" the gentleman demanded.

"Y-yes?"

"Is that a question or an answer?" Alistair snapped.

"Yes."

"You need to come with me. Now."

"But Flora-"

"She'll be fine," Alistair said firmly. "Bill said there was a pub here. We're going there, now."

This was the weirdest way anyone had ever asked him on a date. "Why should I go w'you?" he snapped back. "I don' know y'from Adam."

"Trus' me, 'Tenny', y' _want_ to come with me."

And suddenly, he did. There was no explanation for it except that Tenny now had the most powerful desire to traipse off with this unknown Scottish man who was apparently his best friend's _boyfriend's_ cousin.

"Yes," he said slowly. "O'Grady's. This way."

He led Alistair into the street and they quickly made their way to the pub.

* * *

This was more fun than even he'd realized it _could_ be!

Bill held Flora against him, her head against his shoulder, standing in the middle of the music store. They hadn't really moved since she'd arrived and he hadn't been willing to relinquish his hold on her since that admittedly dramatic kiss in the middle of the crowd.

Oh, the _attention_ he'd gotten from these mortals was almost as intoxicating as the sensation of her warm, slightly rough lips on his, her soft, feminine body crushing against his, the spicy, floral _scent_ of her filling his human senses, the _pounding_ of her one little human heart against his chest.

A hot flush enveloped him once again at the thought of it, even though she was still right there, pressed against him, hugging him tightly, as though she were afraid he'd vanish if she let him go. He _felt_ his mortal body respond and it just drew a soft, possessive chuckle from him. He brushed a soft kiss against her hair.

"Like to see the apartment, Sixer?" he murmured in her ear. "I'm sure these people won't mind."

The 'people' he was referring to had finally thinned out when Mrs. Determined decided to shoo them towards the door after Bill and Flora declined to answer any further questions about their 'whirlwind romance', questions that Bill answered entirely while Flora just seemed a bit too stunned and bemused to say much of anything.

"Apartment?" she managed, the first word she'd said since she'd cried 'Bill' earlier, another memory that thrilled him to his core. He wanted to hear her like that much more often, he decided, in a _very_ different situation.

He could get used to being human. He chuckled. "Missed you, my dear," he murmured. "Oh, my very dear Mrs. Determined, would you be a pet and flip the 'closed' sign on your way out? There's a good girl!" He threw a provocative wink to the bespectacled newspaper editor, who flushed and giggled like a teenager.

"Of course, Mr Sifras! OH MY! What an _exciting_ day this has been! Have _fun_ you two little lovebirds! It's about time our little Science Lady got herself a _husband_!"

Flora stiffened.

"M-Mrs Determined!" It was the first thing she'd said all afternoon and she sounded flustered, "Wait! We-we're not-"

"I agree!" Bill interrupted her, "don't worry about her anymore! Say 'hi' to Alistair if you see him!"

With another knowing giggle, Ophelia Determined blew out of the store, flipping the lock on the way out.

"Tomorrow's paper's going to have our wedding announcement," Flora mumbled. "She's going to be naming our first-born next."

"Would that be so bad?" Bill said with a snicker. "She's a nosy busybody, nobody's going to take anything she says seriously."

"BILL!"

He decided he _loved_ that.

"Oh come on, Sixer. It's funny. Silly. Relax. I'm not leaving you anytime soon. This was all for you, my flower-girl. I'm having the time of my lives!"

He hugged her again and kissed her forehead as he shifted her in his arms.

"Bill," she said softly, "_how_?"

"It's complicated but it's a limited form of magic that takes quite a bit out of me," he said with a_ nearly _melodramatic sigh. "I don't have the same abilities this way as I do in the Mindscape but I don't need them. All I needed was to be human long enough for us to work together." He kissed her again. "_This_, is just a side benefit." He smiled at her softly. "I'm breaking quite a few rules to do this but... well. After what you said the other night, it decided me. I was planning it for a while but I was... _worried_. I'd never done anything like this before. I asked my friend Alistair to help and he was just as concerned about the... uh, _rules_ as I. After the other night though... I said to hell with it. I _needed_ to be here with you."

Flora blinked at him, confused. "I-I'm not sure I understand? You were planning this for a while but-?"

He chuckled. "Let's go upstairs."

Clasping her close to him, he led her into the back of the shop and up the private stairs to the apartment. "I'd had the idea to come here, somehow, for a few months. I'd even set those plans in motion while you were sleeping. But I was conflicted. I knew it was a _major_ breaking of the rules my kind are governed by and it was bothering me something awful. I didn't want to incur the ire of my Superiors by... uh..."

He set her down in an elegant little Victorian sofa and settled in next to her.

"The mundane plans were something that could be halted if I wished and I _nearly_ did, several times."

He looked down at his hands, clasped in his lap, dramatically.

"Then you said you _loved_ me. I suspected it for a while, you see, Flora. But then... I-I _couldn't_ stop my plans. I _had_ to see you. _Be_ with you." He looked at her, cheeks coloring slightly. It was mostly an act, to add emotion to his story that he knew she'd believe. "Because I love you too."

Flora just _stared_ at him.

Maybe he did love her. He wasn't really sure at that point. What he _did_ know was that he _loved_ being here, being human, being _with_ her.

He pulled her to him and kissed her again.

She relaxed into his arms, kissing him back, trembling slightly.

So what if it was an act, he didn't _care_ at this point. He was _enjoying_ himself and that was all that mattered at the moment.

For now anyway.

* * *

"Guinness f'me-"

"Same."

Alistair looked at Tiernan. He'd been fighting his own reaction to the little Irish kid from the moment he'd bumped into him at the store. He'd had to think _fast_. He had to get the kid out of there before Bill saw him-not that Bill was paying attention to anyone other than Florimel.

The kid _was_ Fae. That nearly knocked Alistair over with the _force_ of it. Not only was he Fae, he was _powerful_. The level of threat the Irishman posed to their plans had went up exponentially just by the virtue of the fact that he was _present_. Fast on the heels of that revelation, was that Tiernan was _clearly_ unaware of how powerful he was.

Innocence _radiated_ from the young man.

Another unfortunate fact presented itself as well. Tiernan was _hot_. Alistair was desperately trying to attribute it to his newly minted human form but it was too hard to miss. He didn't recall being _this_ attracted to _anyone_ in millennia. He didn't even _know_ the guy yet.

Perhaps it _was_ just the newish experience of being human. Sensations always were more powerful in a new form, or in this case, a form he hadn't taken in a very long time. The last time he'd been anything _close_ was centuries in the past when he and his brothers would have fun accosting the sailors in Scotland's far northern waters. Even then, he wasn't entirely human.

His mortal Flatland form was completely alien to that of the human, yet he recognized the power of mortality, its' sensations, emotions, _desires._ The desire to _couple_ with a being one found sensually _inviting_ was overpowering, even for a thing like Alistair, who'd been a shifter his entire life.

Absently, he wondered how Bill was coping with it.

This was getting a bit complicated.

"So, what's with the whole rushing me out of the store, business?" Tiernan said, sipping his drink. "Y'were kinda pushy. All y'had to do was ask, y'know."

Alistair shook himself from his reverie and looked over at Tiernan. "I couldn't take watchin' that display a minute more," he said before he could stop himself. "Bill is so overdramatic. It gets on yer nerves."

"Yeah, that." Tiernan frowned. "You're not fond of the idea either? I thought I'd be _happy_ for her. I-I don't know why... but I'm _not_."

Huh. "You like her?"

"Well sure," Tiernan said. "She's my bes' friend. She'd been talkin' about him for ever it seems. I jus' figured he was workin' with her because of th' Uni. I didn't know- ugh."

Alistair frowned. "Back up," he said. "What are you talkin' about? We jus' got here."

"What? Didn't he tell you? Flora an' Bill know each other. Thought they were workin' together through the University? Isn't he a post-doc there? Or professor? Or somethin'?"

How much did he _know_? "Uh, oh. Well _that_, yeah. He's a physicist, sure." Not a lie. "The music store? Well, it's somethin' we always wanted t'do for a while, an' he got the idea to come here and open one so he could be closer to Flora an' their work. An' well, he always wanted t'have one, so it seemed perfect." Yeah, that makes sense. Bill would probably agree to that story.

Tiernan grunted. "I figured he'd be more... sciencey. Not-"

Alistair paused a moment, then he laughed. "Oh! Bill's kind of a showman, yeah. Always has been. Not th' typical scientist at all."

Tiernan tilted his head slightly, lips curving in a very slight (but very cute) smile. Alistair nearly gulped at the sight. "I jus' didn't want Flora gettin' involved with another creep like her las' boyfriend. He was a musician too. An' a scientist." He rolled his large, amber eyes. That was kind of cute too. Alistair sighed deeply.

"Oh? An' why didn't _you_ ask her out if yer so concerned about her love-life?"

Tiernan blinked and coughed. "I'm not interested in her! Not like that!" He took another drink. "She's not my type."

Alistair considered him a moment. Then it dawned on him. _Oh_.

"She's not? Wha's yer type?"

Tiernan chuckled. "Well, t'be honest, _you_."

_Heh!_ his human brain chuckled, a tickle rushing through him. _He's gay! Nice!_

Alistair nearly bit his lip to keep the chuckle from escaping him. "Yer kinda forward f'a doctor." He stiffened a moment as that tickle turned into hot wash of heat that shot through him. Another, much more powerful urge to _couple_ with this cute little, _dangerous_, Irishman fought to overwhelm him.

Tiernan shrugged. "Oh come on," he said, "you're attracted to me, I can tell. I'm kinda psychic. An' yer clearly upset about Bill snoggin' my best friend. Y' as gay as me. Y'not exactly _subtle_ y'know."

Alistair _did_ cough at that.

"An' if yer his cousin, I'm a cowboy from Texas." Tiernan punctuated this statement with a _horrible_ attempt at a Texas accent that brought a chuckle from Alistair despite himself.

Huh. Bill was _wrong_ about something.

"Okay, okay. Down, Tex." Alistair shrugged, grinning a bit. "Yeah, he's my best friend. We're not related. I, uh. I used t'-"

"Date him? Yeah, figured."

Alistair looked into his glass. He missed human alcohol. And this was as good as he remembered. "Yeah. Our bes' friends are kinda jerks, aren't they?"

Tiernan laughed. Pure and sweet and rich. It was as if he were pouring out ages of pent-up frustration with that simple, innocent laughter. "But we love 'em," he said softly. "Even if they're idiots."

Alistair drew in a deep breath. "Yeah," he said. Despite himself, he was really _liking_ this cute, sweet, silly little human. And that was _bad_ on so many levels he didn't even _want_ to count. "Even if they're idiots."

Tiernan smiled brightly at him, raised his glass in his direction and took a drink.

Alistair smiled back, another hot flush racing through his veins. Gods, he _was_ cute. He didn't want to harm a hair on this boy's gorgeous, ruby head, let alone _kill_ him! He wanted to grab him and kiss him and shove him up against the wall and, and-

Oh feckin' hell, things just got a _lot_ more complicated.


	9. Chapter 9: It's Complicated

Chapter Nine: It's Complicated

* * *

_January 11_

"Bill?"

"Hm?"

Flora gazed up at him from the blankets and sheets wound around the two of them. They lay in his bed, a large, four-poster antique thing that dominated his just as elegantly old-fashioned bedroom. It was all brocade and antique gold and black, rich and almost overmuch for such a simple space but she _loved_ it. It _suited_ him.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" she asked, curling a lock of his raven hair around one slender finger. "I mean, I haven't been home in a week now. I-I _need_ clothes..."

"Heh, no y'don't, flower-girl."

He grinned at her, trailing his fingers over her naked hip and tickling her as he did. "I'd like to see you working like this."

"We'd never get _anything_ done," she said with a hot flush and a shy smile. "I think Alistair would appreciate the peace and quiet."

Bill chuckled at that. "You're right about that. Though, he does seem to find somewhere else to be most of the time. When he's not running the store for me."

"Oh, that's not been fair to him, has it?" she said softly, innocently. She hadn't really seen much of Bill's friend and partner, Alistair Kendrick but she knew he didn't like her, for some reason. He was extremely cool towards her, which made her wonder about the _depth_ of the relationship between himself and Bill.

"Oh don't worry about Alistair," Bill said dismissively. "He'll be fine. That's kind of why he's with me, so that he could help us keep up appearances. "He knows we're here to work on the Portal. He doesn't mind."

She wasn't sure about that. He certainly _seemed_ to mind, whenever she was around.

"He doesn't like me," she said with a sigh. "Does he?"

Bill was quiet a moment. He shifted in bed to wrap his arms around her and pull her in against his own heated body. "No," he said finally. "He doesn't. But he knows we have work to do."

"Which we haven't done in a week, Bill."

"It's _cold_ out there, Sixer," Bill murmured, pressing kisses against her forehead. "And it's _hot_ in here." He chuckled. "I like it _here_, much better."

She smiled. "I know. But it can be nice and warm at home too. Don't you want to _see_ the work in person?"

Bill laughed. "I've already seen it, my pet," he purred. "But you're right." He kissed her. "You're right. We can go... in a bit."

He moved a little more and she realized _why_ he added 'in a bit'. She flushed hotly and giggled. "Yes... in a bit..." She lifted her face to his and she matched his rising passion with her own.

* * *

It was damnably cold!

Bill growled under his breath as the two of them hurried from the truck to the house. Tiernan apparently, had been kind enough to bring her truck to them in town, so they could load some new equipment and supplies to bring out to the cabin on their way back.

The first time Bill actually _met_ Tiernan, he hated him even more.

What was more, _Alistair_ was running interference between them the _entire_ time! This only served to infuriate Bill and stoke his hatred for the _cute_ red-headed Irishman all the more. Alistair was _sweet_ on him! It was as plain as _both_ the eyes on his human face.

He'd never expected to see Alistair interested in _anyone_ other than him and it just made Bill's fury rise to even _consider_ the fact. What was worse, was that the kid was _clearly_ powerful and had _no_ idea how much!

If there was something Bill hated more than interference, it was _innocence_. If Tiernan had at least been plain looking or stupid, he might have felt a bit less annoyed but he was none of those things.

Tiernan was sweet, kind, cute, friendly... not quite an angel, Bill realized quickly, not with _his_ genetic background but he was _trying_, which was just as bad as if he'd actually _been_ an Angel or something close.

The topping on the proverbial Black Forest cake was the fact that _Florimel_, _his_ Florimel, clearly _loved_ Tiernan dearly. They were best friends and it was _painfully_ obvious.

Sickening.

Bill grumbled, helping the Irishman and Flora bring in the equipment, shooting glares at Tiernan's back any time the other two weren't looking.

He'd been forced to be nice to Tiernan since he didn't want Flora or 'Tenny' (ugh! what a stupid, gushy nickname!) to suspect the depths of his boiling hatred for the boy. Luckily, subterfuge was something he _excelled_ at.

"Ah! Thanks, William!" Tiernan was saying with a big grin. "It's too cold for man nor beast out here t'day!"

_Ugh! Even his accent and colloquialisms are _cute_!_ Bill fought down a condescending roll of his eyes and flashed a sweet, friendly grin at Tiernan. "No, problem! Thanks for the help! I'd expected to bring this stuff in on my own."

Tiernan blinked, smiled sheepishly and flushed. "I gotta admit, I think I had ya pegged all wrong. Jus' kinda lookin' out f'Flora. Y'know. I love her, y'see an' I just don' want t'see her get hurt. Guess I didn't need t'worry, did I?"

Bill found himself considering that he actually could have _liked_ toying with Tiernan as a pet if he wasn't so incandescently infuriated by the boy's mere _existence_. Tiernan, on a base level, _was_ extremely attractive and just the kind of mortal Bill would have enjoyed _playing_ with. Huh, who knew, perhaps he still_ might_... before he killed him.

Alistair was no good to him on that front anymore. If he'd just gone and done what Bill had _asked_ him to in the first place...

"Bill! I'm making coffee! Do you want some?" Flora called from inside the cabin.

"_I_ sure do!" Tiernan said, closing the front door against a fresh blast of icy wind. "A pot full a' this point! W'maybe some brandy to warm it up!"

"Brandy, eh?" Bill said. "Flora doesn't keep hard liquor in the house, does she?"

They walked into the kitchen, where the woman in question was dropping her coat over the back of a chair. She looked around. "No, generally I don't but there is a bottle from a while back in the top cupboard," she pointed to a dusty cupboard over the refrigerator. "After the grant reception, Mr. Johnson invited me to visit Aperture. He gave it to me then. I polished off the wine Dr. Quinlan gave me a while back."

Tiernan froze. He looked startled and stared at Flora.

_Interesting. He doesn't know she knows-_

"S-Simon?" Tiernan choked. "Dr. Simon Quinlan? O-of Aperture Science Laboratories in-"

"Michigan, yes," Flora said, turning. "Tenny, you know him?"

Bill nearly chortled with glee as he watched Tiernan's face drain of color.

"He's my brother."

It was then Flora's turn to go stock white.

"But... you _knew_ I'd gotten an offer from Aperture, Tenny. Didn't you? Didn't I tell you-"

"No. I know Cave Johnson. I _know_ Aperture. Simon's Director of Computer Science there," Tiernan said in a low, even tone. "You never told me about that. You never told me you _met_ my brother."

If Bill Cipher could have, he would have been laughing with vicious glee. As it was, he was hard-pressed to restrain his _pleasure_ at this entire scene. Perhaps ol' Simon would do his job for him, in part, anyway.

"I didn't know he was your brother. And he was a big reason why I didn't take Mr. Johnson up on his offer. Simon's an-"

"-Arse," Tiernan finished darkly. "Florimel, you should have-"

"How was I supposed to know that, Tenny? You go by 'O'Rinn'!"

"Flora! Simon and I are _twins_!"

Flora stopped short. She _stared_ at him. "No."

"Yes! Goddammit, Flora, I look _exactly_ like him!"

"But... you _don't_!"

"His hair is shorter, a-an' kinda _grayer _and he wears different glasses but yes, we do!"

_Wow. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees!_

"You... you... look... kinder..." she finished weakly. "God, Tenny." She stared at him harder. "I... I never. I thought Simon was in his fifties at least."

"Well, he's not." Tenny frowned. "He's the same age as I am... h-he jus' _tries_ to look older so people will respect him more. He's always done. He _hates_ people knowin' he's Irish. S'why he colors his hair. Thinks grayish black makes him look more _distinguished_. A-an' _American_. S'why he _talks_ like tha'."

_Yup. The idiot thinks sounding like a British television host makes him attractive. Works for him too._ Bill nearly rolled his eyes. He knew Simon Quinlan by reputation-what he was _going_ to do. What he would _cause_. What he would _create_. It was _respectable_ villainy for a one-lifetime mortal meatbag.

"I didn't, well, _try_ to look at him much, I admit," she said. "He was extremely... pushy. I think I spent most of that reception looking over at Rick anyway."

"Why?"

"Because I danced with Simon to piss Rick off and that was _all_."

Tiernan grumbled. In that moment, Bill actually felt a bit of respect for the boy. He _almost_ sounded vicious. He fought down a smirk and slid into the conversation without missing a beat.

"Hey, lets crack open that brandy and we can all toast Cave Johnson and Aperture Science. Their loss is our gain, y'know?"

Tiernan glanced over and after a swift moment, a slight smile curved his lips. "Uh, yeah. Sounds good, William-"

"'Bill', please."

"Uh, Bill."

Flora caught his gaze. _Thank you._

_No problem, Sixer. I can't have my flower-girl on the outs with her best friend, now can I?_

Not _yet_, anyway. His devious brain was already forming a plan. A _better_ plan. A _fun_ plan.

An infinitely _evil_ plan.

And if Bill had been in the Mindscape, he would have dissolved in jubilant, nefarious laughter.

* * *

_January 28_

"What's wrong now, Alistair?" Tiernan said as they sat in O'Grady's, drinking.

"Bill."

"Again?"

"I... I'm having a hard time dealin' with the two of them. They're not subtle. I almost feel like he's _flaunting_ this relationship in m'face."

Tiernan sighed. He and Alistair had become fast friends over the last few weeks. It seemed every time Tenny would wander into O'Grady's after work, Alistair was already there, working on his second or _third_ glass of wine. It bothered him to see how much Florimel and Bill's relationship was _clearly_ hurting the young man. It made him feel _closer_ to him, despite his own concerns about getting so close to Alistair, so fast.

"Y'know... Bill's not a bad guy," Tiernan ventured, carefully. "I-I mean, he's been nothin' but nice t'me an' I was kinda surprised, cause I didn't think he liked me much. Guess he saw me as a threat or somethin'."

Alistair's eyes widened and he nearly snorted. "Uh, sorry... but: _threat_? He knows y'gay, Tenny," he said softly. "I-I mean if Florimel hadn't told him already, I made that completely clear t'him." He smiled a little, which just made Tenny go all tingly inside. He had a beautiful smile, just like _everything else_ about him. "If anythin' he might see y'as a threat for... uh, other reasons."

Alistair seemed kind of reserved tonight. The way he looked at Tenny was warm. Concerned. _Sweet._ Tenny wondered if Alistair was feeling the same thing he was... more than just physical attraction. _Affection_. That would be really nice if it were true, but... it had only been a couple of weeks!

True, Tenny had moved fast before but he hadn't really been in a relationship where the 'affection' was mutual. Which was why he didn't want to move too fast with Alistair. He grumbled under his breath and forced a smile.

"He has no right t'be jealous of you. Or you an' me. There's _nothin'_ to be jealous of," Tenny said firmly. "An' I think y'should switch t' water, Alistair." He waved a hand towards the barmaid and she nodded. "Look, he's _got_ Flora an' he needs t' _learn_ he can't have _everybody_. He's an adult, he oughta know tha'. You got a right t'move on."

"Tenny..." Alistair's hand tightened around his wineglass. "Bill an' I... We've been, uh, 'just friends' for a long time. I guess I was just too stupid t' realize it. He's _possessive_. And-and... yeah. You're right. Bill's a kind of an amazing guy but he's... _exasperating_."

"Oh I believe that. He's smoother'n silk. A real cool character. I mean, I like 'im, but I'm not lettin' him off th' hook jus' cause he's been nice t'me. I can _tell_... there's _still_ somethin' about me he doesn't like."

Alistair coughed softly. "Uh... why would you think that, Tenny?" he said in a low voice. "Did he _say_ something t'you?"

"No. That's jus' it. He's been friendly and kind and completely genuine. Which is what bothers me. Because I _still_ can't shake th' feelin' there's _somethin'_ about me that sets 'is teeth on edge."

"Well, if I had t'guess, I'd say it's because you're Flora's best friend," Alistair said. "You're a scientist. Y_'handsome_ an' sweet an you've been privy to things that he's only jus' learnin' about her. I guess y'bein' gay _still_ doesn' quite make th' anxiety go away? He doesn't really _care_ what sex a person is or what sex a person is into, so... uh." He sighed. "I dunno. I thought I knew Bill, y'know. Maybe I don't as much as I thought." He reached for the glass of water Tenny had ordered and took a long drink. It seemed as though this revelation was affecting him on a deeper level, as though he really had just realized what he was saying. "Maybe y'should try an' steer clear of him a bit. Let them have their-ah, _space_."

"Yeah," Tenny said, sipping his own iced tea. "I guess it's still really new. I mean, I don't know you tha' well either." _Though I'd like to._

Alistair tilted his head. "Well, I know a way we can fix that," he said with a very slight, enticing smile.

Tenny's eyes went wide and he flushed crimson.

"I'm sorry?" he managed, trying not to splutter. "I-I'm not-"

"Easy?" Alistair said, his smile deepening, which made that flush go all the way through Tiernan's body. "I know. I'm not either. But if _Bill_ and _Florimel_ are fuckin' like animals, why can't we?"

"They've been in a relationship for months, that's why!" Tiernan spluttered. "I-I _can't_... and yer bein' crude! They're _not_-"

"Yeah they are. Every _bleedin'_ night an' day for that whole solid week she was at the store!" Alistair snapped back, still grinning, still making Tenny's body burn. "An' I _bet_ they've been just as _active_ at that cabin. He hardly comes into town to help run th' goddamned _store_!"

"You're _drunk_!"

"I assure you, I'm not." Alistair caught Tenny's hand in his own and squeezed it. "I'm _not_ easy. But I know what I like an' what I _want_. An' I've wanted you from th' moment I met you. I don' even know _why_! I've been in love with Bill since I met him in, uh, university. I've never _wanted_ anyone else the way I wanted him. Until _you_!"

He seemed very confused at his own words. He looked at Tiernan and growled under his breath. _That_ sure didn't help the fire coursing through Tenny's veins.

Alistair suddenly released his hands and looked away. Frustrated. "I-I'm being _honest_, Tenny. I-I really don't know _why_ I feel like this about you. I mean... you're sweet, handsome, friendly, affectionate-everything I didn't know I liked. Bill... he's... _not_ sweet. Not really friendly either. He's an arse half the time and he's definitely only affectionate when he _wants_ something from me."

Oh god, he was babbling!

"Alistair-"

"No. I-I know I shouldn't tell you these things... I _really_ shouldn't... but... hear me out, Tenny. There's s stuff... a-about Bill that... I _love_... stuff I know Flora sees in him as well. I-I mean, I _know_ why she loves him. He's handsome, seductive, sexy, kinda wicked... he's incredibly smart and I know that's a _big_ attraction for both of us. But he's also silly, fun, he knows how to find _pleasure_ in everything! B-but..."

_He stutters just like me when he's nervous!_

"Alistair..." Tenny said softly, "it's okay. You didn't offend me. I-I guess I figured that-a-about Bill, I mean. Flora's a..." He sighed. "Flora's a big girl. She dated Rick Sanchez. She can handle a guy like Bill. I mean, I know that. If he hurts her, she'll _kick his bleedin' ass_."

Alistair blinked and stared at him.

"She's a tough girl. I'm jus' a bit overprotective. And if Bill hurts her, he won't just have _her_ kickin' his ass. _I'll_ do it _again_. I'll kick him straight outta th' country," he snarled, "Oregon is a small state. I'll kick him off th' feckin' _planet!_"

Alistair's violet eyes widened. His pale skin flushed and he took a long swig of his wine.

"Y'know," he said, "I _believe_ you."

"Damn straight," Tiernan said with a frown. "Y'don't wanna mess with a pissed off Irishman."

"Tenny?"

"Yes?"

"I want to take you home. Now."

Tiernan felt himself grin fiecely. "_Now_."

"Yeah."

"This way."

* * *

_February 1_

"Tenny, Tenny, wait! Slow down!" Flora gasped, dropping into the sofa. She listened a few minutes more and couldn't help giggling. "Tenny! Hey! Stop a moment and catch your breath!"

"Who is it?" Bill said from the kitchen.

"Tenny... he's.. wait... Tenny, hold up a minute!" She covered the mouthpiece with a hand and sighed as Bill came into the living room, two cups of coffee in his hands. He passed her one and sat next to her.

"Tiernan? Is he alright?" He sounded concerned.

"No-yes... uh. He's just excited. He met someone. He's just happy." She took a drink and waited for the young man on the other end of the line to catch his breath. "Yes, it's wonderful. Yes, he's gorgeous, I saw him, remember? He lives with Bill. Yes. He's sweet and perfect and-" She looked at Bill and smiled. "Tenny and Alistair apparently, are now an item."

Bill's expression was, well, neutral. "Alistair?"

"Yes, I guess they hit it off. I mean, I knew they were getting to know each other but... well. I suppose I'm not really surprised. Are you?"

"No."

He sipped his coffee.

"Tenny's not exactly a, uh-"

"Pushy?" Bill said coolly. "No. But he doesn't have to be. He's _cute_."

"Oh come on Bill, you know him. He won't hurt Alistair, if that's what you're worried about."

He sipped. "Right. Alistair's new to, uh 'the country', is all. He's... _innocent_."

Tenny continued to gush on the phone and Flora chuckled. "Heh, not from what Tenny's been saying."

Bill considered her. Still cool and reserved. "Well."

"Tenny? Sure, we can meet you guys for drinks. This evening sounds great. We will see you then."

She hung up the phone. Turning to Bill, she tilted her head. "What's wrong?"

Bill grumbled and sipped his coffee.

"Bill!"

"I don't know..." he began, looking at her with those big blue eyes of his. She bit her lip to prevent herself from giggling. She couldn't help it. She _still_ was kinda in shock that he was actually _here_, with her and that all of her dreams were _actually_ coming true, for once.

"It's okay, Bill. I know he's your... uh... friend. Partner even? I mean, I'm not stupid. You guys were together at one point, I'm sure of it. In whatever way beings like you are, uh," she colored, "_lovers_. I can tell the way you look at him and he at you. He was still in love with you. Probably still is, even if Tenny doesn't realize it. But _you're_ not. Not anymore. But you still care about him."

He just kind of _looked_ at her.

"You are too intelligent for your own good, Sixer." His voice was low, serious. Almost... _threatening_? No. Bill was many things, volatile and even a little _scary_ sometimes even but he wouldn't ever be _threatening_.

"Yeah, well it's a failing of mine," she said, frowning. "What's the deal? Tiernan O'Rinn is certainly _not_ going to hurt him. He's not his brother. He _won't _hurt Alistair. And maybe it's time Alistair found someone who will love him back."

"Maybe."

"Bill!"

He drew a deep breath. "Alistair and I, yes. You're right. We were lovers. In the past. And we got in quite a bit of trouble over it. My kind isn't allowed to love... not like that. Or _this_." He set the coffee cup down and took her free hand in his and kissed it. "I've broken many rules just by _being_ here. Loving you. Alistair, by being with your friend is breaking just as many. I worry for him. He's not as... _controlled_ as I am."

"How do you mean, 'controlled', Bill?"

He sighed, deeply. "I just don't want him to accidentally _summon_ or _conjure_ something in the heat of passion. O-or make promises he can't keep."

"Well, if you're so concerned, Bill, you can tell him yourself," she said, frowning. Bill could be exasperating as a human and right now was one of those times. "We're meeting them for drinks at O'Grady's. And no, I'm not letting you get us out of it."

Bill tilted his head, eyes widening slightly in _just_ that way that he did when he was preparing to sweet-talk her.

"I can make sure we're _busy_," he purred, tightening his clasp on her hand. "We can get ourselves _locked_ in the basement."

"No, Bill! Stop that!"

His full lips quirked in a wicked smile. "C'mon, flower-girl... I _know_ you'd rather _work_ with me than drink with a couple of besotted lovebirds, who will probably be gazing into each other's eyes and cooing all night."

"Bill! We've gotten plenty of _real_ work done. Enough that we can take an evening off. And enough _fun_ that we can afford to visit with our best friends."

Bill considered her. He sighed. "Stubborn Pines woman."

"Damn straight, stubborn Cipher muse."

_That_ made him laugh. "Muse. You're silly, you know that? A bit of a fanciful girl. I've _read_ your journals, you know. You're much more fanciful and silly in those things than you are in real life. Who _writes_ like that? Anyone else reading them might find them a bit... illogical."

"You've _read_ my journals?" She turned crimson. "Bill! Those are _private_!"

"Oh Sixer, you worry about my reading your journals? I already _know_ all there is to know about Florimel Pines." He chuckled and pulled her close, magically moving her cup to the telephone table. "I'd kind of like to see the girl who _writes_ those journals a bit more in the girl you _are_, to be honest. One who writes so lyrically about her 'muse'... one who might not be shy to wear a lovely little dress she thinks I'd like..."

Her eyes went wide and she flushed again. "Bill-"

"Oh stop that, Sixer!" He kissed her and all the tension drained out of her. She kissed him back with a deep sigh. After a moment, he whispered against her lips, "Fine. We will have drinks with Alistair and Tiernan. But _after_ that... you're not getting out of this so easily."

_Out of what? The sex or the dress?_

_We will see, flower-girl. Oh yes, we will see..._

* * *

He didn't want to be there.

Bill _wanted_ to be back at the cabin, either in bed with Flora or working on the Portal. At this point, he didn't care which.

The booze was good and the place was quaint, if not to his taste and the company was convivial, which didn't matter. He did not want to be there. He did not want to be holding Flora's hand, drinking Guinness and watching Tiernan and Alistair... be in love.

It grated on him. Hard.

Tiernan O'Rinn, who made it _very_ hard to hate him, was glowing and happy and bubbling in Gaelic mostly, which Alistair understood. Alistair was also... _bubbly_. It was almost painful to watch.

Flora, for her part, was quiet, clearly pleased but was squeezing his hand hard enough to actually _hurt_, which was an interesting sensation. He found he didn't mind it really. It meant she was tense and somewhat uncomfortable as well. Not surprising as Flora really wasn't a social person and all the attention the four of them were attracting was definitely grating on her nerves.

Turned out that she didn't know most of the people who were smiling and laughing and congratulating them on their 'engagement' and Tiernan on his new boyfriend.

The town doctor was loved and popular. Even people Bill thought might have an issue with the fact that Tiernan was gay didn't seem to mind at all.

Bill loved attention even if he wasn't particularly interested in gaining it at the moment. So he grinned and chuckled and joked and brushed off repeated requests to play the piano for them. "Nah! Not feelin' it tonight, folks! Maybe next time! I'm too distracted by my lovely little flower here!" Of course, he punctuated this with a kiss on Flora's cheek which just made her blush and everyone else go 'Awwwww!'

He could play a crowd easily and he had to admit, it was a lot of fun.

Well, it was a nominal distraction.

Alistair glanced towards him. _Bill?_

_Yeah?_

_You hate this, don't you?_

_ I'm not a fan, if that's what you're askin'._

_ What was I supposed to do? I... You don't-_

_ Shut up, Alistair! You had a _job_ to do. You didn't do it! You fell in love with the goddamned _mark_! You're _useless_!_

_Oh? Is that what you think?_

Alistair disengaged himself from Tiernan, quietly. He looked at Bill. "Can I have a word w'you, William?"

Flora looked at Bill, curiously.

"Sure, Alistair. Outside good?"

"Fine."

Bill stood up. "We'll just be a minute," he told Flora and Tiernan. "Alistair has something to say."

Flora's eyebrows knit. "Bill..."

"It's fine. We just want t'speak in private," Alistair answered her, standing as well. He paused and offered her a quiet smile. It was more than he'd ever offered her in the past and it made Bill just that much angrier. He'd better not be warming up to _her_ as well...

"Okay," she said slowly, glancing from Alistair to Bill and then to Tenny, who shrugged.

Tenny was a bit tipsy and didn't seem to catch the sudden tension between the others.

Bill made his way towards the front door of the pub, Alistair trailing behind him.


End file.
